Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Kenya

Abstract

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library.This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Non-derivative 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work for personal and non-commercial use providing author and publisher attribution is clearly stated. As scientists, historians and archaeologists continue to uncover, study and promote access to tangible and intangible cultural heritage, there are ever increasing challenges that pervade conservation efforts. Heritage conservation is threatened as the world globalizes and African economies open up to new realms of growth in the international markets while increased building construction, infrastructural expansion as well as terrorism destroy existing heritage assets. Kenya in particular prides itself as a prodigious habitat for abundant and various natural and cultural heritage assets including archaeological sites, wildlife, landscapes and folklores. However, the different forms cultural and natural heritage take and the complexity of the conservation challenges are not congealed; their constant and respective evolution requires continuous regeneration of competence, technology and value systems. Conservators must therefore seek to expand existing principles and practices in the management of cultural and natural heritage, including the assessment of values attributed to the heritage, questions of reversibility and replica as well as access and security issues.Cultural heritage conservation is not one of the subjects that have been accorded great attention in Kenya over the past century. The editors and contributors aim, however, to highlight and expand conservation studies from the confines of technical and scientific management expertise into the strata of matters engrained in local populations and the intrinsic links between communities, and their cultural and natural environment within the Kenyan legal framework. An in-depth discussion on contradictions in existing laws in Kenya exposes the difficulties in implementing conservation guidelines.This book gives voice to subjects and highlights heritage uncared for, which helps to tell and understand the national narrative. The heritage mentioned includes monuments, trafficking of African antiquities, wildlife, cultural tourism, indigenous methods of conservation, the participation and empowerment of communities as immediate beneficiaries and vi F O RE WO RD makers of the culture. Consequently, ownership rights and utilization of heritage resources is presented as an issue of human rights and democracy. This book also introduces rural landscapes from the dimension of aesthetics and how these can be understood and used as a socio-cultural resource. It is a book that opens up conversations on 'esoteric' historical issues such as colonization and the influence of religion on cultural practices.Kenyan scholars have for a long time relied on foreign knowledge in seeking to understand and expl...

Exploring The Narrative of Heritage Through The Eyes of The Law

“…The engagement of custodians; individuals, groups and communities living in the area in which a heritage is located, to whom the heritage gives a sense of belonging and identity, and with whom the heritage shares a deep spiritual, emotional and social links, is important in ensuring the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of a conservation effort (Deisser and Njuguna, 2016;Amareswar, 2009). The WHC does not expressly provide for the requirement to involve the communities and custodians of the proposed heritage properties in the preparation of the nomination.…”