Conference sessions

Title of the session

MARINE CULTURAL HERITAGE RESEARCH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: COMMUNITY-CENTRED STRATEGIES TO CONFRONT A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Session Organizer(s)

Dr Arturo Rey da Silva,
HFF Scholar in Marine Archaeology and Sustainable Development,
School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh,
United Kingdom,
Email: [email protected]

 

Mr Caesar Bita,
Head of the Department of Coastal Archaeology and Marine Cultural Heritage Research Scientist,
National Museums of Kenya (NMK), Kenya
Email: [email protected]

Delivery format

Podium

Nature of a session

Open for Contribution

Session abstract

Marine and coastal cultural heritage (MCH) comprises all traces of material culture resulting from the interaction of human societies with the environment, as well as their associated intangible manifestations, which are living expressions of coastal communities around Africa today. The Rising from the Depth Network (RftD) and its 27 innovative projects in East Africa have shown the potential of the African MCH to understand not only the East African past but specifically to analyse present societal challenges and development impacts while projecting sustainable livelihoods strategies. MCH is an irreplaceable repository of the anthropogenic use and exploitation of the environment, with the potential to inform responses to sustainable development goals. However, the fast-growing rate of coastal and offshore development initiatives, together with the incapability of States to match development speed with appropriate legislative frameworks that ensure the protection of MCH, is causing its rapid disappearance. In this sense, MCH is also affected by the increasing threats resulting from the construction of mega ports projects, the over urbanisation of the coast as well as pressures coming from overloaded tourism in certain coastal areas.

Following the legacy of the RftD Network, this session welcomes research projects whose outcomes are stimulating economic, social, and ecological sustainable development while modeling a new dimension in the way heritage practitioners, scholars and communities approach MCH.