Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
UNESCO has been the principal inter-governmental organization with
responsibility for the protection of cultural heritage. Its mandate includes promoting
culture and cultural diversity, acting as a forum for and taking an active role in
standard setting, awareness raising and capacity building for the safeguarding of
culture and cultural heritage. Maintaining cultural diversity means safeguarding
different types of heritage - tangible and intangible, movable and immoveable - as
well as pluralities of culture within different communities. From a legal perspective
UNESCO's early work focused on the tangible heritage: monumental, built heritage
in particular. However, more recently, there has been greater attention given to
ensuring more universal recognition of all types of heritage, including intangible
elements. This has led to a rapid increase in heritage treaties as well as other legal
instruments and supporting programs and initiatives. In total, seven international
cultural heritage treaties have now been adopted.
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The
Convention on the Safe-
guarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage
(hereinafter 'CSICH') is one of the most
recent and an important addition to the global regime.
This chapter will focus upon the intangible cultural heritage of the Pacific island
region and in particular the relevant legal frameworks for its protection. Current
threats to heritage and the efforts to safeguard it will be explored. The CSICH will
be described and the opportunities and barriers to its implementation analysed. The
chapter concludes with recommendations to ensure that the intangible heritage of
this culturally diverse region will be secured for the future.
The Pacific Context
The Pacific Ocean covers millions of square kilometres and contains thousands of
islands. There are about 22 Pacific Island nations but the focus here is upon the
independent small island developing states (SIDS).
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The unique biological and
cultural diversity of the Pacific region has been internationally recognized and well
documented by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (UNESCO
1997
), the
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These are the
Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed
Conflict
1954
;
UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit
Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
1970
;
UNESCO Convention
Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,
1972
; UNIDROIT
Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects
1995
;
UNESCO Convention on the
Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage
2003
;
UNESCO Convention on the Protection of
the Underwater Cultural Heritage
2001
; and
UNESCO Convention on the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
2005
. For access to the full text of the treaties
see
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/
.
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These include the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, Federated States of Micronesia,
Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga,
Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Other island jurisdictions in the region include American Samoa, Cook
Islands, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Pitcairn Islands,
Tokelau and Wallis and Futuna; however, these are overseas territories of other countries, and not
independent states.
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