Pacific Islands lag behind in preserving culture
Updated
When it comes to recognising and preserving areas of cultural importance, the Pacific Island countries are being accused of lagging behind. To date, just handful of Pacific Island countries have made it onto UNESCO's world heritage list. But, that might be set to change. The latest in a string of annual, regional workshops hosted by UNESCO is taking place on the tiny French Polynesian Island of Maupiti. The aim is to get Pacific Island countries to sign up to the UN convention on protecting sites of cultural and historial importance - and then push them to get more sites onto the world heritage list.
Presenter: Helene Hofman
Speakers: Giovanni Boccardi, chief of the Asia-Pacific unit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Richard Tuheiava, member of French Polynesian Parliament and the French Senate
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HOFMAN: Maupiti, in the western corner of French Polynesia's Leeward Islands is itself considered culturally and historically important. The tiny volcanic atoll has stood the joint coronation of nine Pacific kings in 1823 and in Polynesian mythology it's west coast is considered the departure point of spirits bound for heaven.
But this week Maupiti is sharing the limelight and hosting the UNESCO World Heritage Pacific Islands workshop. So far, just 13 Pacific Island countries have signed up to the UN Convention on World Heritage to preserve and protect site of cultural and historical importance and of those, just three countries have made it onto the World Heritage List, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
The chief of the Asia-Pacific unit at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Giovanni Boccardi, is attending the conference and says there are a number of reasons Pacific Island countries may find it more difficult to protect certain areas.
BOCCARDI: The issues are the protection of the cultural and natural heritage of the Pacific, which is particularly exposed to a number of threats and the lack of capacity of these small island countries in dealing with the threat because of the lack of resources, the remoteness of these islands and the fact that they do not possess the expertise in many cases. Among the problems that are affecting the heritage of course climate change has been mentioned, but also the lack of awareness of the importance of the Pacific heritage. Of course internationally, but also locally among the communities that live in this country.
HOFMAN: I understand you have been meeting annually for the last few years in various parts of the region. Has anything been achieved in that time?
BOCCARDI: Yes, I think a great deal has been achieved. It may not be very visible at first sight, but for instance, if you compare the situation of today with 2000, there were only two countries that ratified the World Heritage Convention then and there are now 13. Also you have to be here today and listen to the presentations of the representatives of all the small island countries and compare them with the presentation that we were given some five years ago when we first gathered in New Zealand, to notice an incredible change in the self, the assurance, the confidence that they have now in dealing with this difficult issue.
HOFMAN: And with all the progress that has been made, how does the Pacific region compare internationally?
BOCCARDI: Well in terms, of numbers, of course one could say that the Pacific is under represented, especially if you consider the incredible diversity in natural and cultural terms. But you have to consider that most of the small island states have only ratified the convention in the past few years. So one could say that of course it's a beginning, it's a promising beginning that I think much has been achieved and now we are on the right track.
HOFMAN: Those attending the conference are also working on a regional action plan to cover 2010 until 2015. The long term aim is to get as many sites as possible in the region on the World Heritage Listing. However, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre says that regardless of whether the sites make the cut or not, the policies adopted to protect them would benefit cultural heritage as a whole. That is a view shared by one member of the local delegation, the French Polynesian member of parliament, Richard Tuheiava, who also sits on the French Senate.
TUHEIAVA: The objective of this workshop is to really highlight raise the awareness of our Pacific Islander people on the importance of maintaining and sustaining the preservation of our unique Pacific and cultural heritage in this area in the natural region as well. In this kind of workshop, the people are exchanging and sharing the reflections and ideas that allows us to really emphasis the common things that links all the Pacific Islands and also to actually optimise and increase the number of Pacific sites that could be lifted hopefully on the World Heritage List, not only for the individual values, but for the transnational or common value.
HOFMAN: What kind of benefits do you get from being on the list?
TUHEIAVA: Actually being on the list is not a goal, being on the list is just a tool and access to another realm, another world, another fund-resources level, another possibility to highlight the extraordinary and rich value and future of Pacific Islands from a tourism prospective and also a way just also the awareness of the local community in each Pacific country in the importance and the loss that they are actually facing regarding their many heritage.
