Ensuring the Viability of Cultural Heritage: The Role of International Heritage Law for Pacific Island States - Island Futures: Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region - page 40

International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) (Smith and Jones 2007 ),
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Gerbeaux et al. 2007 )
and others. Historically the peoples of this region had no writing and the archaeo-
logical record of their cultures includes few monuments. The safeguarding of
intangible heritage is therefore of particular importance. The Pacific region pro-
vides examples of many different categories of intangible cultural heritage. These
include environmental ethical perspectives and belief systems, languages, customary
practices and governance structures, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions.
Despite the great diversity amongst the peoples and cultures, there is a common
historical experience as the pattern of settlement of the Pacific islands was inter-
linked and cultural heritage was shared “through common voyaging, kinship, trade
and other relationships” (Smith and Jones 2007 : 6). Most states in the region have
had a period of colonial rule by countries that were physically and culturally
remote, but their culture survived and the majority of the indigenous peoples con-
tinue to live at least a partially traditional lifestyle. Thus while each nation, and in
some cases each island, may have its own specific heritage, the many cultural and
historical commonalities support the regional approach taken here.
Today, the Pacific SIDS face similar social, economic and environmental concerns,
including large and rapidly growing populations (following a period of outward
migration), urbanization, limited land and financial resources, environmental fragil-
ity and the desire for economic development. Heritage, and particularly intangible
cultural heritage, is at risk from multiple processes. Globalization and moderniza-
tion have tended to have a homogenizing influence and cultural diversity is being
lost as pressures to develop impact heavily on heritage. For example, modern farming
and fishing techniques are replacing traditional methods, western medicine and
science has replaced traditional knowledge, and formal education has tended to be
mono-linguistic (mainly English or French). These impacts are compounded by
environmental degradation which is likely to intensify with contemporary climate
change. Environmental issues, such as pollution, waste management, over-fishing
and land clearing, impact traditional lifestyles, customary lands and cultural spaces.
The physical impacts are compounded by the damage to intangible heritage, as
customs, traditional knowledge and practices are directly affected by the loss of
cultural spaces and sacred sites and species. Extinction of species also results in
loss of traditional knowledge in relation to ecology, medicine, arts and crafts. The
predicted effects of climate change are likely to disrupt or displace whole commu-
nities and the ensuing assimilation may cause further loss of intangible heritage and
possibly the complete disappearance of individual minority cultures.
Cultural Heritage Protection in the Pacific
Pacific SIDS have long recognized the need to conserve cultural heritage. There
are many national museums, organizations, government departments, programs and
projects aimed specifically at protecting heritage. In addition some regional
approaches have also been taken. These are explored in further detail below.