Environmentally Sustainable AFTESWORKING PAPER DevelopmentDivision v- EnvironmentalAssessment Working Paper No.4 Public Disclosure Authorized CULTURAL PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS IN Public Disclosure Authorized SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA A Handbook Public Disclosure Authorized by June Taboroff and Cynthia C. Cook September 1993 Public Disclosure Authorized Environmentally Sustainable Development Division Africa Technical Department The World Bank EnvironmentalAssessment Working Paper No. 4 Cultural Property and Environmental Assessments in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Handbook by June Taboroff and Cynthia C. Cook September1993 EnvironmentallySustainable Development Division SocialPolicy and Resettlement Division TechnicalDepartment EnvironmentDepartment AfricaRegion TheWorld Bank Thispaper has been prepared for internal use. The views and interpretabonsarethose of the authors and should not be attri- butedto the World Bank, to itsaffiliated organizations, orto any individualacting on their behalf. PREFACE The use of environmentalassessment (EA) to identifythe environmentalconsequences of developmentprojects and to take these consequencesinto account in project design is one of the World Bank's most important tools for ensuring that developmentstrategies are environmentally sound and sustainable. The protectionof cultural heritage - sites, structures, artifacts, and remains of archaeological,historical, religious, cultural, or aesthetic value - is one importantobjective of the EA process. The Bank's EA procedures require its Borrowersto undertakecultural heritage assessments in projects that are likely to have diverse and significantimpacts on cultural resources. For nearly two decades, the Bank has includedcultural heritage conservationcomponents in Bank-supportedprojects. More recently, the Bank has encouragedBorrowers to take a proactive approach to cultural heritage conservation,rather than simply avoidingsites that occur within a project area. The principle of Bank support for cultural heritage conservationis now well established. But opportunitiesto improvesite security and sustainabilitymay still be missed for lack of informationand institutionalcoordination. The purpose of includingcultural heritage in the EA process is to ensure that locally, nationally, and internationallysignificant cultural resources are protected from the potential negative impactsof developmentprojects and to promote more effective use of these cultural assets through increasedaccess and better public understandingof their value to society. These guidelinesare intendedto assist regional staff, consultants,and borrower staff in planning for cultural heritage conservationin project environmentalassessments. They are intended to complementthe instructionsgiven in OperationalDirective 4.10, EnvironmentalAssessment, and in the forthcomingOperational Directive 4.25, Cultural Property, as well as the more general guidance given in the Bank's EnvironmentalAssessment Sourcebook, Volume I, Chapter 3. This report was prepared by June Taboroff of the SocialPolicy and ResettlementDivision of the EnvironmentDeparunent (formerly EnvironmentalAssessments and Programs Division), under the direction of Cynthia Cook, Africa TechnicalDepartment Environment Division, and with the cooperationof Maritta Koch-Weser, Chief, Asia TechnicalDepartment Environment Division (formerly Chief, ENVAP). Mr. Philip Ravenhill, Chief Curator of the National Museumof African Art, Janet Stanley, Librarian, and Christa Clarke, Intern, made major contributionsto the study. Among the many other experts who shared informationand experienceare Alexandre Marc, Mary Dyson, Gael de Guichen, Mark Horton, Brigitte Senut, Pierre de Maret, Susan Maclntosh, and Ann Stahl. I would like to express my appreciationto all of them for their generous collaborationon this study. Francois Falloux EnvironmentalAdvisor EnvironmentDivision Africa Region CULTURALPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENTALASSESSMENTS IN SUB-SAHARANAFRICA TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Methodology 3 Cultural Property Issues in Africa 3 Cultural Heritage and Cultural Identity 3 GeographicalDistribution 4 ChronologicalRange 4 Human Origins and Archaeologyin Africa 5 Architecture 6 Cultural Landscapes 6 Material Culture 6 The Legacy of Colonialism 7 Legal Framework for Cultural Property Assessment 7 FrancophoneAfrica 7 AnglophoneAfrica 8 Areas for Action 8 Participationin InternationalConventions and Agreements 8 InstitutionalFramework for CulturalProperty Assessment 9 RegionalFramework 9 National Framework 10 Coverage and Coordination 10 InformationSystems 10 Research Institutionsand Training Programs 11 Private Sector Capacity 11 Conservationof Sites 12 Designing a Cultural Property Assessment 12 Identification 12 Preparation 13 Appraisal 15 Supervision 15 Summary 15 Country Annexes (in alphabeticalorder) AFRICAREGION CULTURALPROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENTALASSESSMENTS IN SUB-SAHIARANAFRICA Introduction Africa's cultural heritage' is rich and varied. This heritage finds expressionin a wide variety of art forms and artistic and artisanalproducts. Culturalproperty is protected and preserved in paleontological,archaeological, historical, and sacred sites, as well as in museumsand other structures and in the daily life of the people. Despite insufficientresearch and data and a high degree of country variability, cultural property in sub-SaharanAfrica is substantialand widely distributed. Africa's cultural heritage is of worldwideimportance. This is especially true of African archaeology, which can inform all of us of the history of human evolution,humanity's impact on the environment, its use of natural resources, and its creativityin the arts and in the creation of societies. Every stage of human evolutiontook place in Africa. Africa's cultural achievements- development and use of tools, independentinvention of agriculture, long distance trade, African art (including ancient rock art which is some of the oldest in the world), urbanism, and metallurgy- are of a high order. Throughout sub-SaharanAfrica, often clustered along coastal areas, riverbasins, or major transportationaxes, are many thousandcultural heritage sites.2 In 15 countries in western Africa for which a detailed listing was assembled(Huysecom 1987), some 5,000 sites (excavations,middens, grave mounds, shrines, towns, ancient villages) have been enumerated. In Mali alone, 874 sites have been noted in the literature. These figures should be seen as indicativeonly: many sites have been found but not recorded and whole geographicareas have not yet been surveyed archaeologically. The World Bank's OperationalDirective 4.01 on EnvironmentalAssessment requires borrowers to prepare EnvironmentalAssessments (EAs) for all proposed projects or project componentsthat may have diverse and significantenvironmental impacts, includingimpacts on cultural heritage sites. Cultural assessmentsconducted as part of project Eas are essentialto ascertain expected impacts on culturalproperty and to prevent its destructionor damage. An importantpart of this process is the screening of projects for potential impacts on cultural property, and if necessary the design of detailed studies needed to specify those impactsand to prepare mitigationplans. Culturalheritage refers to sites, structures, and remains of archaeological,historical, religious, cultural or aestheticvalue. This discussionfocuses on tangibleand immovablecultural property comprisingarchaeological sites, building complexes, architecture, monumentalsculpture, painting, inscriptions,and other paleontological and physical remains left by human inhabitantsand consideredpart of a country's cultural heritage. See Unesco, ReconmnendationConcerning the Preservation of CulturalPropertv Endangeredby Public or Private Works, Paris, 1968, and ConventionConcemine the Protectionof the World Culture and Natural Heritage, Paris, 1972. The terms ancient monuments,antiquities, relics, historic landmarks, historical sites, cultural patrimony, and cultural resources also describe forms of cultural heritage. 2 Known site distributionoften reflects a samplingbias rather than true distribution. Intensive survey work in areas previously consideredto be archaeologicallybarren has often revealednumerous sites. -2 - The informationassembled for the purpose of making cultural heritage impact assessmentscan be extremely useful in deepeningand extendingour knowledgeof Africa's past. Development projects that have included archaeologicalsurveys, such as the Volta Basin Project in the mid-1970s, the Kafue Dam in Zambia, and the Lesotho HighlandsWater Project, have contributedgreatly to African archaeology. To make full use of Eas, the findings must become part of the informationbase on cultural heritage. Of equal importance, it must be made accessible to project and government planners, thus requiring a suitable informationretrieval system. Further, project environmentalassessments can provide a tool for incorporatingcultural heritage concerns into economicdevelopment. These assessments, however, will have a significant effect only if they are carried out in the context of a national policy that brings cultural heritage into national environmentaland economicplanning. This policy should be based on the importanceof surveying, inventorying,conserving, studying, and interpretingarchaeological sites, architecture (traditional and colonial), the arts (both urban and rural), and crafts (traditional and modern). Such a policy should also reinforce the institutionsdevoted to these tasks. Operational