HERITAGE: CONSERVATION Vs DEVELOPMENT

Challenging Our Attitudes

Moses Wafula Mapesa

15th ICNTEntebbe, Uganda

Sept 30, 2013

THE PRESENTATION

• INTRODUCTION• UNDERLYING CONCEPTS• CHALLENGING OUR LEADERS• CHALLENGING OUR ATITUDES• CASE STUDIES• CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

• KEY WORDS: Heritage, Conservation, Development, Leadership, Culture

• UNDERSTANDING THE KEY WORDS

• Is Conservation in contest with Development? I say NO!

HERITAGE

• Heritage is:What we inherit – Birthright, Tradition, Custom

• Broadly Heritage is– “Something passing from generation to

generation

• There are 2 distinct categories:– Natural Heritage– Cultural Heritage

 Is the Inheritance of: animals, plants, water, land, landforms.

It is the Natural Inheritance

Natural Heritage

Cultural Heritage

• Is the legacy of physical artifacts & intangible attributes passed on from generation to generation

• Includes: buildings, monuments, books, art, dance, traditions, folklore, language, landscapes, religion, knowledge

Cultural Heritage

• Food Heritage is part of cultural heritage• Food Heritage is about:

– Places of origin of plants and animals domesticated for food

– Includes: farms, mills, dairies, orchards, breweries, restaurants, markets

Cultural Heritage

• Industrial Heritage is also part of Cultural Heritage

• Refers to physical remains of Technology & Industry– Examples in Africa include: pyramids in

Egypt, the Great Zimbabwe , Timbuktu in Mali, Kasubi Tombs in Uganda

CONSERVATION

• Is an ethic of resource use, allocation and protection.

• Prevention of injury, decay, loss or waste of natural and cultural heritage.

• Careful utilization or “wise use” of our heritage – for livelihoods & development

• Based on planning, control, cooperation and monitoring to spur development .

• Avoiding destruction, depletion, extinction, loss.

DEVELOPMENT

• Is a process: Of Social & economic transformation of a society based on cultural and environmental factors.

• Development may also be understood as:– The systematic use of natural laws (science)

and cultural knowledge to meet society needs

• Heritage therefore drives development• Put simply, it is the socio-economic

transformation of society using its inheritance.

UNDERLYING CONCEPTS

• The Concept of Sustainable Development– Improving the quality of human life without

compromising the needs of future generations– Economic growth, Environmental protection &

Social equality– Often priority is on economic growth at the

expense of environmental protection & social equality.

– Note: Environment + Social ethics = Heritage

Underlying Concepts

• The Concept of Public Trusteeship– Also referred to as Public Trust Doctrine– Is about collective ownership, protection & use

of heritage– Often backed by national and international

laws– Sometimes abused, leading to conflicts– National Heritage– World Heritage – World Heritage List

• Outstanding Universal Value

Underlying concepts

• The Concept of Common Property Rights– Embedded in traditional heritage management

practices– Community collective ownership, protection &

use– Based on societal (cultural) norms– Worked for hundreds of years for many

agricultural, livestock and fishing communities globally

– However, many societies have been dispossessed of their heritage – leading to conflicts

CHALLENGING OUR LEADERS

Challenging our Leaders (i)

• Different leaders for Heritage, Conservation and Development.

• The natural environment is changing quite fast

• Demands are increasing – food, water, energy infrastructure.

• How do we pass on our inheritance to the next generation amidst these demands?

• Scharmer, 2011, argues there is a void in the leadership to address crises like climate change, housing, food and water shortage

Challenging our Leaders (ii)

• Need for cross-sector and cross – cultural entrepreneurial leadership? Scharmer, 2011

• Need cooperation among sectors and collective action? Dent, 2012

• Leaders need to engage more using current communication technology e.g cyber conversation.

• Leaders must understand the complexity of socio-ecological systems

• The community level is critically important because of varied cultural settings. Pollard , 2008

CHALLENGING OUT ATTITUDES

Challenging our Attitudes

• We believe we know all about heritage, conservation and development

• We know the underlying concepts and principles (the precautionary principle, equity, prior informed consent)

• Do we practice what we know?• Are we willing to learn (from local

communities, indigenous people, foreigners)?

COMMON ATTITUDES (i)

• Heritage is Culture – Not really– Culture is a component of heritage

• Heritage Conservation is anti-development – Not at all. – Conservation is about wise use and right

choices for development

COMMON ATTITUDES (ii)

• Culture is Static – No– Cultures does change, gradually though

• Heritage is not a driver for development – Wrong– Heritage is a powerful driver for

development but there has to be a balancing act

COMMON ATTITUDES (iii)

• Culture is not important for development - Wrong – Former US Senator, Patrick Moynihan,

observed: “The … truth is that it is culture not politics which determines the success of society. … Politics can change culture and save it from itself”.

– Several scholars confirm the assertion above– Trust, hard work, respect for others, control

of one’s destiny are key cultural values for de’vpt

CASE STUDIES

• Case studies abound on linkages between heritage, conservation and development

• But the question why some countries develop faster than others still remains.

• Why is Africa lagging behind?• Why is Latin America seemingly slow?• Why did Japan and China stagnate then leap?• Why do some ethnic groups (Chinese, Indians,

Lebanese, Jews, Croats) do better than others wherever they go?

• How did UK, USA and other develop?

CONCLUSION

• A team of economic scholars (Khan et al, 2010) concluded that:– The cultural values of: self determination, ,

honesty, cooperation, trust, mutual respect, self-improvement and freedom of thought; which depend on individual attitudes, and are based on a set of beliefs and norms are the key to development of any society.

• The link between heritage, conservation and development is strong and positive – there is no gap and there is no contest.

Thank You (Asante Sana)