Introduction Strategies Aimed at Promoting Cultural Heritage As Kenya’S Critical Tourism Asset Have Encountered Many Obstacles
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Challenges in Sustainable Heritage Conservation and Preservation of Historic Cities and National Monuments in Kenya By Catherine Kariuki, Nicky Nzioki & Dr. Jennifer Murigu Department of Real Estate & Construction Management, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Introduction Strategies aimed at promoting cultural heritage as Kenya’s critical tourism asset have encountered many obstacles. They include the lack of resources for heritage inventory and assessment; inadequate regulative frameworks; poor understanding of building materials; low commitment to maintenance of heritage assets; as well as the paucity of training initiatives and limited employment opportunities in this sector. Such problems were further compounded by the realities of globalization with rapid economic development, continuous urbanization and changing population dynamics. Several key issues and challenges facing the sustainability of multi-cultural heritage of Kenya are discussed as follows: Challenges in sustainable heritage conservation, Challenges in implementing the legal and institutional arrangements in conservation and preservation of historic monuments in Kenya and the Challenges in management of National Monuments in Kenya The Management Plan of World Heritage Sites UNESCO has identified the formal recognition and management of World Heritage Sites (WHS) as a key means of conserving the world’s cultural and natural heritage for present and future generations through the World Heritage Convention (WHC, “Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage”, Paris, 16 November 1972). The member States of this Convention accepted the responsibility of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, enhancement and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage located in their territory [UNESCO 1972]. With the Budapest Declaration (2002), the UNESCO World Heritage Committee invited the member parties of the Organization to strengthen the initiatives designed to protect world cultural heritage by fostering the actual protection of each asset already included (or for which inclusion was encouraged) on the World Heritage List (WHL). Moreover, the Committee invited them also to ensure an equitable balance between the conservation, sustainability and development of the various sites, which was relevant not only at the cultural level but also at the economic and social level. Since 2002, UNESCO has established the importance of sustainability and the need for management plans to safeguard cultural heritage. The Budapest Declaration established the need and the importance of management planning for all sites on the WHL in order to identify good practices, strategies and measures for the protection and preservation of their universal value over time [UNESCO 2002]. 1 The importance of conservation and preservation of a National Heritage Pedersen, (2002) in preparing a manual for World Heritage Sites stated that because World heritage sites are some of tourism’s main attractions it is important to have environmentally sound management. Any management of these should also ensure that local communities benefit from the site. He argued that potential benefits of these sites cannot materialise without careful planning. To further show the importance of conservation of these sites, the World Heritage for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was signed in Paris on November 16th 1975. This is an International Agreement through which Nations join together to conserve a collection of World timeless treasures. Parties or countries to the convention recognised their primary role to ensure the identification, protection, conservation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage situated in their territory. This is the only international legal instrument for the protection of both cultural and natural sites encouraging cooperation among nations for safeguarding their heritage. Definitions of Cultural Heritage As cultures and heritage are irreplaceable, their particular forms and means of tangible and intangible expressions that constitute the community heritage values should be promoted as an essential aspect of human development. Culture is defined as the whole complex of distinct spiritual, intellectual, emotional and material features that characterize a particular society or social group and its way of life. Culture includes the arts and literatures as well as lifestyles, value systems, creativity, knowledge systems, traditions and beliefs. Cultural properties are often shared, learned, symbolic, transmitted across generations, adaptive, and integrated. On the other hand, heritage refers to “an inheritance or a legacy; things of value which have been passed from one generation to the next”. A wider definition of heritage encompasses the traditional notions of heritage as cultures, places and buildings as well as archives and records, and the impact of technology. Heritage, which relates to the remains of the past should be well preserved as national treasures and be cherished to posterity The concept of cultural heritage invariably differs from one nation or region to another. In a broad sense, it is perceived as movable and immovable assets of artistic, literary, architectural, historical, archaeological, ethnological, scientific or technological values that embody the essence of a nation. Recognizing the significance of cultural heritage and developing the relevant general criteria provide the rationale for subsequent management decisions pertaining to conservation, preservation, access and the delivery of related conservation programs. Culture and heritage are often considered as the fundamental aspects underpinning a country’s national identity and sovereignty. Specifically, the UNESCO’s Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) has defined cultural heritage by the following classifications. 2 Monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; Groups of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; · Sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and of man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological points of view. There have been efforts by countries to adopt the UNESCO convention and come up with relevant country definitions. The most significant significant cultural values and concepts include among others the following:; structures and artifacts: dwellings, buildings for worship, utility structures, works of visual arts, tools and implements, that are of a historical, aesthetic, or scientific significance; Sites and human habitats: human creations or combined human creations and nature, archaeological sites and sites of living human communities that are of outstanding value from a historical, aesthetic, anthropological or ecological viewpoint, or, because of its natural features, of considerable importance as habitat for the cultural survival and identity of particular living traditions; · Oral or folk heritage: folkways, folklore, languages and literature, traditional arts and crafts, architecture, and the performing arts, games, indigenous knowledge systems and practices, myths, customs and beliefs, rituals and other living traditions; cultural properties in Kenya inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List by January 2010. A number of monuments and sites of significant cultural heritage in Kenya have been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List (WHL) to represent an outstanding universal value as well as a masterpiece of human creativity. These include. (cultural properties in Kenya inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List by January 2001). Cultural Heritage Tourism Tourism, including the cultural heritage segment, has been identified as one of the key growth industries over the next decades. International tourism arrival worldwide has been increasing by about 4.3% per year and that spending has been rising by about 6.7% per year, resulting in issues of managing tourism growth and sustaining economic development. Cultural heritage tourism, in particular is fast becoming one of the leading tourism sectors in Kenya Cultural heritage tourism is unique as it offers the opportunity to portray and experience the past in the present through an endless possibility of interpretive and presentation techniques. It allows the local community to define its culture and narrate its own 3 story. Cultural heritage tourism has several objectives to be achieved within the context of sustainable tourism development. They include conservation of cultural resources; articulate interpretation of resources; authentic experiences for visitors; as well as understanding the tourism framework and the impact on communities and regions. Tourism in Kenya continues to play an important role in community economic development despite a significant pressure placed on heritage resources. Issues of urbanization, poverty and lack of funding present a management challenge for cultural heritage tourism in Kenya. Convention