Between International Law, Kastom and Sustainable Development: Cultural Heritage in Vanuatu - Island Futures: Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region - page 32

institutionalizing an enforceable legal regime for the protection of cultural heritage
sites, one that includes their equitable and sustainable use by local communities.
This is why the WHC calls for such protection to be established prior to site nomi-
nation, in addition to UNESCO's continuing efforts to support heritage protection
through various Pacific programs, action plans and regional workshops.
Nevertheless, governments of small island developing states in the Pacific face
a host of difficulties in sustainably developing and simultaneously preserving heri-
tage sites. This CRMD case study demonstrates that land issues, combined with
low institutional transparency, misinformation and a mixture of state legal systems
and customary rules, make appropriate site management and its sustainable devel-
opment a challenging prospect. So far, Vanuatu's legal framework for the protection
of cultural heritage has not been very responsive to CRMD issues and, as a result,
has not been very helpful to their resolution. Moreover, cultural heritage protection
has not been integrated into any of Vanuatu's alternative development strategies and
the lack of a comprehensive national development framework has sidelined efforts
to preserve or develop the site.
This chapter has argued that existing international and regional agreements may
be utilized to fill in Vanuatu's legislative gaps or provide a basis for drafting new
legislation which would incorporate provisions outlined in international agree-
ments. The trans-boundary dimensions of issues like climate change or commercial
globalization, as well as the status of heritage sites as a kind of global commons,
are factors in support of the argument for more internationalist orientation.
Observing relevant international and regional agreements may enable Vanuatu to
take on board international obligations which - as in the case of the WHC - bind
numerous states, thereby creating a level playing field for cultural heritage protec-
tion. The success, however, of applying international frameworks would largely
depend on the processes put in place to make them legitimate in the eyes of local
communities. This requires a deeper understanding and engagement with the
underlying social norms and dynamics that establish and legitimize appropriate
actions and the promotion of equitable space for dialogue where divergent views
and experiences can be aired and addressed.
A peace poem by Konai Thaman reads “…when all is said and done, you'll have
to give up soon the things that make you what you are, the things you think you own”
(Thaman 2000 ). It is to be hoped that governments in the Pacific realize in time that
international law can be utilized to effectively preserve cultural heritage sites and,
by extension, the cultural heritage at the center of Pacific peoples' identity.
Acknowledgements The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of the World Bank, its executive directors or the countries they represent.
The authors are grateful for background information on this paper provided by Douglas Kalotiti,
Chairman of the CRMD World Heritage Committee, and the international advisory group,
including Adam Trau, Chris Ballard, Meredith Wilson and Alison Fleming. For more information
contact Katharina Serrano at [e-mail] and Milena Stefanova at mstefanova@
worldbank.org.