10 reasons to

defend Starlight 1. Astronomy, professional and amateur 2. Ecological integrity 3. Energy efficiency 4. Cultural practices including ceremony, inspiration and

spirituality 5. Tangible and Intangible cultural heritage 6. Landscape beauty and appreciation 7. Wilderness experience 8. Starlight tourism 9. Human health 10. Safety and security

The participants in the Third International Starlight Conference, meeting in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, on the 10th- 13th of June 2012,

Guided by the principles set forth in the Starlight Declaration (La Palma 2007), and the conclusions of the International Workshop and Expert Meeting: “Starlight Reserves and World Heritage scientific, cultural, and environmental values” (Fuerteventura, 2009),

Agreed the following considerations and recommendations:

Dark skies

and nature conservation Progressive Development Considerations• Given that species and ecosystems have night as well

as day cycles and that artificial light can interfere with organism and ecosystem functions;

• Understanding that cultural heritage sites are best en-joyed in an authentic state, and that the enjoyment of landscape aesthetics and true wilderness experiences are often diminished by artificial light, causing glare, light trespass and sky glow;

• Recognizing that astronomy, both scientific and ama-teur, along with night sky viewing by all people, is fun-damental to understanding and enjoying our natural world;

• Taking into account the guidance contained in the 2009 “Starlight Reserve” concept developed in colla-boration with UNESCO-WHC, IAU, UN-WTO and other IGOs and NGOs;

• Restating point 5 of The Starlight Declaration 2007:

“The negative effects of emissions and of the increased intrusion of artificial light on the atmospheric quality of nocturnal skies in protected areas have an impact on several species, habitats, and ecosystems. Control of ob-trusive light must be a basic element of nature conser-vation policies and should be implemented in the mana-gement plans of the different types of protected areas to fulfil their mission in protecting nature and biological diversity”;

RecommendationsWe hereby:

1. Call upon environmental and natural resource manage-ment agencies to recognize that artificial lighting should be subject to effective standards in order to help restore and/or maintain the ecological integrity of natural areas and the commemorative integrity of cultural sites, to respect traditional beliefs related to the night sky, and to protect species and ecosystems everywhere;

2. Suggest that infrastructure management authorities re-gulate and control artificial lighting in the areas under their jurisdiction so as to achieve only the necessary amount, spectrum, positioning and timing of outdoor illumination for public use and safety;

3. Encourage managers of natural areas and non-govern-mental organizations to promote awareness of the value of the night sky and the need for, and methods of, mini-mising light pollution;

4. Recommend that universities, science funding agencies, and scientific institutions foster and support research into the nocturnal aspects of biological and ecological functions;

5. Urge protected area management authorities to foster visitor activities that lead to public appreciation and un-derstanding of nocturnal ecology and the night sky;

6. Recommend that protected area and other conservation agencies seek opportunities to cooperate with scientific and amateur astronomy organizations and indigenous peoples to develop and maintain optimum lighting de-sign, darkness monitoring, delivery of visitor activities and outreach related to the night sky, the nocturnal as-pects of ecosystems, and the importance of the night sky to traditional cultures;

7. Warn that light sources with a high blue component ad-versely affect many species and alter ecosystem func-tion both in urban environments and beyond, and are particularly harmful to both casual stargazing and pro-fessional astronomy;

8. Support the objectives and efforts made by DSAG-IUCN (Dark Sky Advisory Group), and the motion on “Dark Skies and Nature Conservation” to be submitted at the IUCN World Conservation Congress at its 5th session in Jeju, Korea (2012).

Bridging astronomicalheritage and

modern astronomyProgressive Development Considerations

• Considering that currently there are only a few places on the planet where we find this unique combination of environmental and natural circumstances resulting in well conserved spaces with very little alteration to natural starlight, called “windows to the universe”;

• Recalling the importance of intangible cultural herita-ge of each site as a vehicle for assessment of starlight as a resource for citizens;

• Restating points 8, 4 and 6 of The Starlight Declara-tion 2007,

“Areas suitable for unimpaired astronomic observation constitute an asset in short supply on our planet, and their conservation represents a minimum effort in com-parison with the benefits they contribute to our know-how and to scientific and technological development. The protection of sky quality in these singular places must be given priority in regional, national, and international scientific and environmental policies. The measures and

• Recognizing that the sky, our common and universal heritage is an integral part of the total environment of mankind and that both inspiration and knowledge have come from astronomical scientific research and discoveries;

• Noting the Thematic Study Heritage Sites of Astro-nomy and Archaeoastronomy in the context of the World Heritage Convention jointly prepared by ICO-MOS and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group, constitutes the background for a com-parative analysis to assess the Outstanding Universal Value of a specific site of the same type proposed for World Heritage listing;

• Recalling the Resolution B5 in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight adopted at the IAU Ge-neral Assembly 2009;

• Recognizing the importance of maintaining the quality of the night sky for science and development of astro-nomy;

RecommendationsWe hereby:9. Welcome the progress made by the thematic study on

the Heritage of Astronomy by ICOMOS and the IAU Wor-king Group on Astronomy and World Heritage and en-courage these bodies to disseminate their results;

10. Encourage States Parties to propose new sites to the World Heritage List, taking into consideration the he-ritage associated with astronomy, and especially those places that have pristine skies and exceptional natural, cultural and/or scientific values;

11. Support the highest recognition and protection of excep-tional sites called “Windows to the Universe”;

12. Encourage actions to revitalize intangible cultural heri-tage and inspire future generations;

13. Urge the recovery of observatories in urban environ-ments and enhance their use and sustainability for the public access and educational.

provisions must be made to safeguard clear skies and to protect such spaces from the harmful effects of light, radio-electric emissions, and air pollution”.

“Access to knowledge, armed with education, is the key to allow the integration of science into our present culture, contributing to the advance of humankind. The dissemi-nation of astronomy and the scientific and cultural values associated with the contemplation of the universe should be considered as basic contents to be included in educa-tional activities, which require a clear and unpolluted sky and proper training of educators in these subjects”.

“Mindful that a starry night sky forms an integral part of the landscape perceived by the inhabitants of every territory, including urban areas, the landscape policies established in the different juridical systems need to adopt the pertinent standards for preserving the quality of the night skyscape, thus allowing them to guarantee the common right to contemplate the firmament”.

Combat Light

Pollution: Save

Energy and

Recover the

StarsProgressive Development Considerations

the global initiative on “Sustainable Energy for All” launched by United Nations in 2012;

• Recognizing the need for better information and mo-nitoring of light pollution globally and locally, from Earth and from space;

• Recalling that Shanghai Declaration on Urban Futures and Human and Ecosystem Wellbeing (UNESCO’s Urban Futures Programme, Shanghai, 2010) “urge regional, national, state or provin-cial, and local authorities to help address climate change, environment and pollution issues, inclu-ding light pollution, through a range of resource use efficiency programmes and renewable energy production and to allocate sufficient resources to achieve the objectives of economically sustai-

• Understanding that light pollution is introduced by hu-mans, directly or indirectly, with artificial light into the environment;

• Recognizing that light pollution has increased in re-cent years and become a global problem requiring lo-cal solutions;

• Noting that energy efficiency, human health, and per-sonal safety are all enhanced by the use of proper lighting and diminished by excess lighting;

• Taking into account that 17% of electricity con-sumption worldwide is due to the lighting, and the-refore lighting has important implications for climate change;

• Recalling that reducing light pollution and energy sa-ving lighting contributes significantly to the goals of

RecommendationsWe hereby:14. Consider that the first step towards efficiency is to limit

unnecessary outdoor lighting;15. Encourage the adoption of standard rules that allow

a substantial reduction of the levels currently used in outdoor lighting;

16. Disseminate the concept of eco-friendly technologies in lighting, which besides energy efficiency should take into account the control of light pollution by giving the following minimum proscriptions:

- do not allow luminaires to send any light directly at and above the horizontal;- do not waste downward light flux outside the area to be lit;- avoid over lighting;- shut off lights when the area is not in use;- aim for zero growth of the total installed flux;

17. Promote the implementation of laws, by-laws and ordi-nances on the protection of the night sky and light po-llution control, taking the example of recent advanced experiences;

18. Consider the health problems of using light at night, es-pecially blue content of light and so recommend to limit night time blue content of light used both indoors and outdoors;

19. Promote “Lighting Benchmarks of Excellence” as rele-vant examples of initiatives that local authorities have realised in their territories, and are particularly proud of and endorse as models for other local authorities to replicate;

20. Support completion and funding of the II World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness, given its importance for the necessary control and knowledge of this pheno-menon;

21. Propose the reduction of light pollution as an objective of the energy efficiency in the UN global initiative on Sustainable Energy for All;

22. Promote the Starlight cities action under the umbrella of the Urban Futures Programme (UNESCO-MaB), as a rela-ted initiative of the EU Covenant of Mayors, launched in Shanghai Conference (2010).

nable and environmentally sound urban develop-ment”;

• Restating point 7 of The Starlight Declaration 2007: “The intelligent use of artificial lighting that mini-

mises sky glow and avoids obtrusive visual impact on both humans and wildlife has to be promoted. Public administrations, the lighting industry, and decision-makers should also ensure that all users of artificial light do so responsibly as part of an integral part of planning and energy sustainability policies, which should be supported by light pollution measuring, both from the ground and from space. This strategy would involve a more efficient use of energy so as to meet the wider commitments made on climate chan-ge, and for the protection of the environment”.

Starlight Tourism:

a driving force to

value dark skiesProgressive Development Considerations

• Recognizing this opportunity to bring science and tourism together;

• Emphasizing the need to ensure the quality of tourism experiences involving the nightscapes, the view of stars and the cosmos and the related scientific, cultu-ral and environmental knowledge;

• Recognition of science as a tourist product and, at the same time, as a working method in tourism;

• Recognizing that tourism is the medium which will unite parties supporting productive activities in the

landscape and those supporting preservation of the clear skies and associated scientific, cultural, envi-ronmental and spiritual meaning;

• Understanding that starlight tourism in excellent dark sky sites represents a new way for sustainable tourism, and can be a powerful economic subsector that generates green employment, stimulates local development, and fosters creativity;

• Restating point 9 of The Starlight Declaration 2007: “Among others, tourism can become a major instru-

Recommendations

23. Strengthen the cooperation among the scientific com-munity and key tourism stakeholders to develop tourist products with a solid knowledge base;

24. Improve the training and capacity building of key actors, including astro-tour guides, scientific tour operators, and service providers;

25. Promote cooperation between dark-sky places in the smart development of astro-tourism and night time nature touristic products, to explore the natural night landscapes as part of our natural environment, including the night sky and nocturnal fauna and flora;

26. Maintain and reinforce cooperation with the UN-WTO Knowledge Network and the UNESCO-MaB Program as partners in the development of the Starlight Tourism Destinations;

27. Support the implementation of the “Starlight Destinatio-ns” as a new scientific tourism product in relation to the World Heritage properties, as proposed in the working document submitted to the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC-12/36.COM/5D).

ment for a new alliance in defence of the quality of the nocturnal skyscape. Responsible tourism can and should take on board the night sky as a resource to protect and value in all destinations. Generating new tourist products based on the observation of the firmament and the phenomena of the night, opens up unsuspected possibilities for cooperation among tourism stakeholders, local communities, and scienti-fic institutions”.

Law and the

Right to

Starlight

Progressive Development Considerations

• Referring to the importance of previous legal instru-ments including, but not limited to: The Outer Space Treaties; Cultural ideas and cultural property rights legal protection and mechanisms protecting the rights of groups as well as individual property owners; Regio-nal agreements like the European Council Landscape Convention; Science-based park management and the Scientific Tour Operators under UNEP, UNESCO, and UN-WTO; recommendations regarding starlight places, terrestrial based space tourism, and astro-tourism; Starlight Cities and international law including the UNESCO “Urban Futures Programme” as integrated into the EU’s Covenant of Mayors; Light pollution con-

• Recognizing our right to starlight as a resource for cul-tural, scientific, environmental, health, touristic and spiritual needs;

• Recognizing our right to knowledge based on scientific heritage and development based on different cultures of previous generations;

• Understanding that the right to a healthy life includes a right to nocturnal environments including starlight;

• Recalling that spiritual inspiration, teachings and practices include the night sky, the stars and heavenly bodies as part of its doctrine;

• Understanding that our Right to Starlight is exercised by both “thinking globally and acting locally”;

RecommendationsWe propose the following to promote the development of state and local laws, statutes, regulations and ordinances, zoning, building codes, and industry standards, as well as, international, regional, supranational, and global agree-ments concerning:28.Light pollution control and efficient use of energy, ta-

king into account their implications on people’s quality of life, their impact on climate change, and the require-ments related to biodiversity conservation;

29. Urban planning laws that will limit and reverse light po-llution;

30. Travel and tourism development taking into considera-tion the host peoples’ rights as well as sustainable deve-lopment for economic and social growth;

31. Cultural heritage protection;32. Spiritual enablement.

trols through ordinances; Implementation into buil-ding code standards for environmental sustainability, including starlight communities and LEEDS;

• Recognizing that there is a relationship between these diverse legal systems protecting certain rights from which our right to Starlight emerges;

• Restating point 1 of The Starlight Declaration 2007, “An unpolluted night sky that allows the enjoyment

and contemplation of the firmament should be con-sidered an inalienable right of humankind equiva-lent to all other environmental, social, and cultural rights, due to its impact on the development of all peoples and on the conservation of biodiversity”.

Knowledge, outreach and

networking

Recommendations

33. Promote a Global Network of Dark Sky places that would include, among others, Dark Sky parks and preserves (IDA), RASC designations, and Starlight Reserves;

34. Promote the use and dissemination of new smart portals related to heritage of astronomy and dark skies such as the Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy and the Biosphe-re Smart Platform (UNESCO-MaB);

35. Cooperate in the common dissemination of guidelines on the protection of dark skies and lighting, such as the IDA (International Dark Sky Association) guidelines, those prepared by OTPC-OPPC, among others, also helping in their translation into other languages;

36. Support global campaigns and initiatives related to as-tronomy outreach and protection of dark skies, such as The World at Night, The Global Astronomy Month, Earth Hour, Globe at Night, One Star at a Time, TWAN;

37. Report the results and proposals of this Conference to the International Co-ordinating Council (ICC) of the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.

Rapporteurs: Phil Cameron and Cipriano Marín (Starlight Initiative)

Progressive Development Considerations• Recognizing the need to strengthen cooperation bet-

ween all organizations and initiatives involved in the defence of the night sky, particularly among IDA (In-ternational Dark-Sky Association), Starlight Initiative, IAU WG (Astronomy and Heritage) and DSAG-IUCN (Dark Sky Advisory Group);

• Considering the need to strengthen the synergies of the different dark skies campaigns and related initia-tives;

• Recognizing that the Starlight Initiative has already made and will continue to contribute to important sustainable development resolutions in tourism de-velopment, urban planning and infrastructure design: both in emerging and new cities, such as the “third-tier” cities in China, and in rural areas, in near-natu-ral landscapes and near parks and reserves;

Photo credits:Cover: Fraser Gunn. Inside images: Andre Vicente Gonçalves, IAC (Institu-to de Astrofísica de Canarias, Astrotour, The World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness (PDF: Cinzano, P., Falchi, F., Elvidge), Fraser Gunn.