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Past glories: Has our planet become too busy to care about global heritage?
Giles Crosse suggests there are valuable lessons we can learn from the past.
Global heritage can refer to many things: ancient buildings, art, cultures, biodiversity or animal species. But such vital links to our past are increasingly under threat from land encroachment, river damming, intensive farming or mass tourism.
Equally, new generations seem distanced from such heritage, as computers or consoles and the internet make music a downloadable file, not something to marvel at in a historic setting, and video games are more appealing than art galleries.
As with so many aspects of sustainability, time is running short. The Global Heritage Fund reckons ‘the Maya Biosphere in northern Guatemala is home to the earliest and largest Preclassic Maya archeological sites in Mesoamerica and includes the largest pyramid in the world – La Danta.’
But, says the WWF, this very same site has lost 70 per cent of its forests in the last ten years. Aforementioned commercial drivers including logging, the trade in drugs and even archaeological looting seem to blame.
Protection push
But there’s a suggestion things may be changing. From December 22 2009, the Belgian government offered up two million Euros to the project ‘Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Conserving World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo’.
On the same day, participants in a UNESCO World Heritage Centre workshop appealed to world leaders to incorporate protection for heritage sites from global warming or disaster into legislation.
‘The loss and deterioration of these outstanding properties would deprive the world of their cultural and socio economic value, their documentary value as a source of information and their tangible ability to support and shape human cultural identity.’
And just four days earlier, Germany gave US$ 3.2 million to the Côte d'Ivoire's Park and Reserves Foundation ‘to preserve the genetic reservoir of a complex forest ecosystem.’ It seems poaching, agriculture and mining are the primary threats.
The UNESCO World Heritage List now contains some 890 properties considered of cultural importance. As of April 16 2009, 186 worldwide States had adhered to the World Heritage Convention, basically promising to take responsibility for protecting and conserving national heritage for future generations.
Paths to the past
Jeff Morgan is Executive Director for the Global Heritage Fund. How does he see heritage as beneficial to today’s society?
“Even Assassins Creed 2 is made in historic Florence and kids love being part of history,” says Morgan. “Heritage makes our life rich with our history and knowledge of our past and how we can learn from the past for our future.”
Morgan reckons it’s not just about fun. Heritage can bring multiple benefits to society in terms of educational and social learning, teaching respect for the past, other generations, and one another. Plus there’s the opportunity to build sustainable incomes for local people.
“Every heritage site has a story. We need to develop these stories well to share for generations. In developing countries and small country towns in the UK or USA, heritage is bringing visitation and income for hundreds of millions of people.”
There are a number of ways to protect and develop heritage sites, and encourage interest in them, but Morgan sees a combination of measures as the best path forward.
”Mobilising private sector interest to compliment good government and community-led plans for protection,” he suggests. When our heritage sites are lost, what do we as a society lose?
“I do not lump in all heritage together. I believe we cannot save everything, but focus on UNESCO World Heritage of universal value and significance, then just read the description to understand what we lose.”
Teaching tradition
Education has the power to do more for heritage than perhaps any other measure. Illustrating the value of the past to youngsters is among the best ways to secure a sustainable future. But what can be done to better encourage learning through heritage?
“We should bring in more multimedia to museums and sites - see www.harappa.com for example,” says Morgan. Yet another area that could pay dividends is sustainable tourism.
“Visitation provides income for the communities around sites who are the stewards for heritage,” he continues. “World Heritage in Young Hands is an excellent program from the UN to do this. We use it in every project. In UK and US schools, site visits are critical to curriculum, and heritage sites should be featured deeply in courses. Historic Williamsburg in Virginia is visited by every East Coast student, and California Missions are in every 4th graders program.”
Sadly, conflict, poverty and aggression, in addition to the rush to exploit resources of any kind continue to plague the future for global heritage. Back in 2007, an ancient rock carving of a seated Buddha located near Janabad in north west Pakistan was subjected to suspected terrorist attacks, damaging the statue.
Then again, the Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain of Kyrgyzstan recently achieved World Heritage List status in June 2009, illustrating what can be done in the face of severe economic and political instability.
With so much history dependent on such steps, worldwide accord on how to best move forward would be well appreciated.
What are your views? Not sure? Read the resources below for more information. Add your comment below. We welcome your thoughts and proposals. Not a Planetary Citizen? Sign up and start making a difference!
Resources:
Chavín de Huántar, Peru A Pre-Columbian World Heritage Treasure
Cyrene, Libya Africa’s Largest Ancient Greek Site
My Son, Vietnam Last Vestiges of the Champa Kingdom
Pingyao Ancient City, China China’s First Banking Capital
