Daily Times

Culture is an essential and vitally important aspect of sustainable development. It is intertwined with all facets of human life, and is connected with what matters to people and communities. Cultural resources can effectively be utilized in achieving sustainable development for overall human progress and well-being.

Broadly, culture is divided into three different forms. The built culture, the material culture and the living culture. The built culture pertains to monuments, forts, buildings and places of historical and architectural value. It requires preservation and protection from the chance of erosion so that this can better be enjoyed by the present and future generation. The material culture is related to archaeological and anthropological tangible objects which are produced, used, and left behind by the people. These include tools of various kinds, ornaments, weapons, art collection and crafts, images, coins, figurine, pottery etc. The living culture is something that is inherited in the past and still continuing. It encompasses language, knowledge, dance, folklore, music, religious practices, traditions, fairs and festivals, performing arts, literature etc.

There are different views and approaches to culture regarding development. To some it is a component of social stability, others consider it the fourth pillar of sustainability and a group of researchers think that cultural aspect strongly influences other three pillars. In the classical approach of sustainable development, culture is not considered as a separate sphere. The proponents of classical and traditional models mostly adopt a narrower version of culture only focusing on art and heritage.

From cultural heritage to cultural and creative industries, culture is both enabler and a driver of economic development

The traditional model of sustainable development mainly covers social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. This is called the three pillar model of development.The Rio declaration of 1992 which is considered an important document on sustainable development highlights eighteen principles of sustainability where the cultural dimension of development has not found significant place. However, it was realized that this approach alone cannot fulfil the whole spectrum and complexity of human society.

In 2030 Development agenda, culture is mentioned only once in the goal 11, wherein, the only target 11.4 out of 169 targets refers to the cities and associated efforts for protecting and safeguarding the world’s culture. However, this is not a strong reference because it is not specifically focussed on cultural resources and cultural heritage as a dimension of Sustainable development. Culture should be recognized and included as a priority dimension of all the planning and development strategies such as master planning, zoning guidelines of towns and cities, coastal development and management and overall policy processes of annual development plans both short term and long term. It is crucially important for safeguarding cultural resources and heritage from the possible danger of unsettling and disrupting effects of urban development.

In this regard, the article-13 of the UNESCO convention 2005 on the Protection and Promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions explicitly mentions a strong connection between the protection and promotion of cultural resources and sustainable development. The parties of the convention are required to incorporate and integrate culture in development policies in an instrumental fashion. Furthermore, the convention stresses on the need for assimilating cultural heritage, cultural right and creativity as a vital component in the development agendasdue to a fluid and ever changing environment.

The culturally rooted livelihood practices work as an enabler for the retention of local knowledge and produce employment while contributing in local economic development. Culturally related goods and services require small investment due to employment of resources and skills available within the community. So culture has a strong nexus with the economic development, and it leads to sustainable livelihood approaches.

Moreover, creative industries and cultural infrastructure are immensely precious resources for making livelihoods. The cultural infrastructure such as museums, cinemas, theaters, cultural centers, heritage sites as well as cultural festivals and programmes promote tourism and help develop creative industries. In addition to that, cultural and creative industries are becoming super drivers of the digital economy.

Aside the economic, social and environmental challenges, the world is also facing problems related to knowledge, creativity, diversity, beauty and values. These matters are fundamentally connected with the culture. With this regard, culture contributes immensely since all such issues can better be negotiated and expressed in the cultural domain and compassneededfor inclusive and sustainable development.

In different ways and in different forms culture plays a very important role in the sustainable development whether it is a material culture, living culture or built culture. From cultural heritage to cultural and creative industries, culture is both enabler and a driver of economic development. This is the time to effectively realize that culture should be at the central place and at the heart of the worldwide deliberations for achieving sustainable development. This calls for more multiple understanding of development not tilted solely towards economic parameters of growth but engaging fundamental values of culture such as ethical practices, different forms of knowledge making and sharing and continuous questioning.

There is a need for a collaborative and holistic framework for governance of culture and multi stakeholder policy making engaging several levels of government and society in an instrumental fashion for effective and visible inclusion of cultural resources in development programmes. The positive and constructive engagement among different cultures increasingly promote mutual understanding, dialogue, peace, reconciliation and a strong sense of belonging. It is essentially important to ensure the rightful place of culture for achieving sustainable development as culture involves a systematic connection between every facet of life as it is lived.

However, countries all over the world need to determine, from their own cultural perspective and socio cultural structures, how to properly utilize cultural resources, practices and traditions in their development plans fulfilling the real needs of the people. Development planners need to consider the vitalizing role of culture, and ensure that development plans respond to the aspirations of the concerned communities and are culturally assimilable.

The writer is a Chevening Alumnus and Secretary to the Government of Balochistan (Culture, Tourism and Archaeology Department)