Ghana Marks International Day for Monuments and Sites
April 18 is annually observed as the International Day for Monuments and Sites [IDMS]. It aims to bring global attention to the need to conserve monuments and sites as our cultural heritage and to “celebrate the diversity of this heritage”.
The Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of Ghana Museums and Monuments, Kingsley Ofosu Ntiamoah in a statement to mark the day said his outfit “Is in the process of updating and compiling a National Heritage Register of Sites and will include mapping of Rural Landscapes for incorporation into the National Heritage Register “
Below is the full statement
This year’s International Day for Monuments and Sites (IMDS) offers another opportunity for the global community of heritage Conservators and heritage Mangers to raise awareness about the relevance of rural landscapes, the challenges that encompass their conservation, the benefits that these landscapes provide, and how rural landscapes are fundamentally related to sustainable development.
The Day again, represents an unmatched opportunity to foster communication and build links with communities while acknowledging their involvement in the creation, existence, evolution and richness of these rural landscapes, and no doubt, in their conservation
In 1982, International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites. UNESCO approved it the following year during its 22nd General Conference. Since then, 18 April has been a day to celebrate and promote cultural heritage.
Every year on 18 April, ICOMOS celebrates the International Day for Monuments and Sites, whose establishment was approved by the 22nd UNESCO General Conference in 1983 under different themes.
IMDS 2019 is observed under the theme “Rural Landscapes” which refers to heritage places both the tangible and intangible in of rural areas. Rural Landscapes encompasses physical attributes such as productive land ,water ,infrastructure vegetation ,settlements ,vernacular architecture as well as wider physical ,cultural ,environmental linkages and settings .
Some Rural Landscape Sites in Ghana are as follows:
Kakum National Park, the Ashanti Traditional Building, the Mole National Park, the Ada-Keta Songhor Lagoon Settlers, Kwahu Mountain range farm settlers etc.
Benefits of Rural Landscapes
Rural Landscapes provide diverse economic and tourism benefits when closely linked with the communication and enhancement of their heritage values
Threats to Rural Landscapes in Ghana include the following:
· Demographic and cultural (Population growth in Urban areas and depopulation in rural areas ,urban expansion ,development pressures ,loss of traditional practices techniques ,local knowledge and culture .
· Environmental (Climate change ,pollution and environmental degradation including non-sustainable resource mining .
Heritage should play a significant role in the recognition ,protection and promotion of rural landscapes and bio cultural diversity due to the significant values it represents .
Action criteria /strategies for preserving Rural Landscapes in Ghana :
Specific measures are: To protect ,sustainably manage the transformation ,communicate and transmit Rural Landscapes and their heritage values through:
· Documentation of the Heritage Values of Rural Landscapes in Ghana
· Inventory and cataloguing Rural Landscapes
· Promote extensive and ongoing cooperation among public institutions ,non-governmental organizations and Universities for research ,information sharing ,technical assistance and coordination of a wide variety of knowledge building activities .
The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board is in the process of updating and compiling a National Heritage Register of Sites and will include mapping of Rural Landscapes for incorporation into the National Heritage Register .
We (GMMB) are through this medium calling on all stakeholders to support us in the conservation of heritage for posterity. For without it, we have no identity as a people.
<<Print>>