May 9, 2006

By Shamin Chibba

THE Cradle of Humankind houses some of the world's oldest artefacts and fossils, some of which have been preserved - in the care of the earth - for as long as four million years.

It was for this reason that Maropeng, at the Cradle of Humankind, was picked to host the launch of the African World Heritage Fund on Friday, 5 May. Of the 34 sites on the World Heritage Endangered List, 14 are in Africa, underscoring the need for funding.

World heritage sites are declared by Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Speaking at the launch, Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan said, "We want to remove all African heritage sites from the endangered list."

His department and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism each contributed R10-million to the fund. In July 2005 the World Heritage Committee approved an African World Heritage Fund and an African Position Paper.

"Forty percent of African sites were endangered, so the African states got together to sort out the matter," Jordan said. "The African Position Paper contains a programme of action that identifies the problem and provides motivation for the World Heritage Fund to rescue the African heritage sites."

Discussions regarding the fund and position paper were held between South Africa, Benin, Nigeria, Egypt and Zimbabwe, where the focus was on the need for financial support to maintain all heritage sites on the continent.

China, India, Netherlands and Israel have contributed financially to the fund, which expects to raise $10-million, or about R60-million, from the donor countries. It will look at creating partnerships with corporations that have a particular interest and will to invest in arts, culture and heritage.

Other foreign assistance comes in the form of the Nordic World Heritage Foundation, which will help the African fund with corporate and technical expertise. The foundation was established by the Norwegian government in March 2003. It works closely with Unesco to protect cultural and natural heritage sites around the world.

Themba Wakashe, the deputy director-general in the national government's heritage, archives and library services, said it was vital to retain partnerships with these countries. "It is a long-term partnership and we will continue."

Other partnerships with stakeholders would also be established, he said, adding that there would be joint programmes with the countries involved to train conservators and managers to preserve Africa's heritage sites.

"It is the unlocking of economical potential, particularly when it comes to heritage and tourism," Wakashe concluded.

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