coben, l. y stanish, s. sustainable preservation iniciative 2010
TRANSCRIPT
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8/3/2019 Coben, L. y Stanish, S. Sustainable Preservation Iniciative 2010
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8/3/2019 Coben, L. y Stanish, S. Sustainable Preservation Iniciative 2010
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The Sustainable Preservation Initiative (SPI) seeks to save and preserve the
worlds cultural heritage by providing transformative and sustainable economic
opportunities to poor communities in which cultural heritage sites are located.
The SPI mantra is Saving Sites by Transforming Lives.
SAVING SITESTRANSFORMING LIVESBYThe Sustainable Preservation Initiative
By Lawrence Coben & Charles S. Stanish
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according to University o Pennsylvania archaeolo-
gist Larry Coben, SPIs Executive Director, we need to
provide an alternative to other potential economic uses
o archaeological sites, such as looting, agriculture, graz-
ing, residential and commercial uses. That enables us to
help people better their lives and gives them a powerul
economic incentive to preserve our shared heritage .
SPI was incubated at the A rchaeological Inst itute
o America and the Cotsen Institute o Archaeology at
UCLA as a response to the rapidly accelerating destruc-
tion o the worlds global heritage. War, looting, climate
change, neglect and increases in extreme tourism are
all contributing to the massive damage to archaeologi-cal sites. Particularly in poorer communities, there is
no unding or site preservation, and alternatives to
archaeology are the best economic uses o sites. The
problem o economically superior uses is prevalent in
both more and less developed countries, rom histori-
cally signicant buildings in major cites razed to build
condominiums to sites looted to sell artiacts by poor
local residents. The current economic crisis only exac-
erbates this problem.
Existing preservation paradigms have proved inade-
quate and unsustainable, primarily due to the absence o
an economic reason or local communities to continue
preserving sites ater the departure o archaeologists and
conservators. How can someone tell a poor person not to
economically exploit a site, even i destructive, without
providing a viable economic opportunity that provides
income to that person while simultaneously preserving
cultural heritage? SPI seeks to create a new paradigm to
solve this problem.
The explosion o extreme tourism and globalization
create enormous potential or locally based tourism and
artisan businesses. Even small local economic benets
can compete successully with looting and alternativeuses o sites. And the creation o local businesses with a
vested interest in the preservation and maintenance o a
site provides an ongoing and long-term source o incen-
tive and unding or site
preservation, as well as
all o the benets nor-
mally associated with
economic development
in poor communities.
PEOPLE CANT EAT THEIR HISTORY,
Even small local economic benefts
can compete successully with looti
and alternative uses o sites.
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SPIs goal is the creation o this new preservation
paradigm. Working with community and governmen-
tal leaders, local business people, archaeologists and
preservationists, SPI will develop plans or projects and
businesses that will be locally owned and that maxi-
mize spending in the communities surrounding the
sites. Through microlenders, charitable organizations
and other sources o unding, SPI will provide grants to
existing or start up businesses such as tourism, guides,
restaurants, hostels, transportation, art isans and site
museums and other rapidly implementable projects.
Continued economic support will be tied to successul
sustainable business and preservation eforts. Through
this combination o local involvement, decision mak-
ing and ownership, sustainable economic benets and
value will be related to and conditioned upon continued
site preservation. These businesses will also provide an
ongoing revenue stream to meet preservation and other
local needs. This paradigm provides two or the price o
oneevery dollar spent on economic development and
the improvement o local peoples lives will also serve to
preserve the worlds cultural heritage.O course, mere successul implementation o a ew
projects will not stem the destruction o the worlds
global heritage. Rather, SPI will publicize, publish and
educate with respect to its successes and ailures, as well
as create an online network o experts who can consult
with archaeologists and local communities to assist
them in the implementation o local economically sus-
tainable projects. Many archaeologists desire strongly
to assist their local communities in this way, but are not
trained to do so. SPI will be a resource or them to call
Working with community and governmental
leaders, local business people, archaeologists
and preservationists, SPI will develop plans
or projects and businesses that will be locally
owned and that maximize spending in the
communities surrounding the sites.
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upon to meet this goal and preserve their sites. SPI will
also provide course material or inclusion in archaeo-
logical curricula.
SPI is presently active in Peru and Armenia, and ex-
pects to announce projects prior to year-end in Jordan.
SPIs strongest supporters include the AIA, the Cot-
sen Institute and the members o its outstanding board
o directors, which includes a broad cross section o
archaeologists, business people, international develop-
ment experts and diplomats, all o whom are dedicated
to the successul implementation o SPIs new preserva-
tion paradigm.
Lawrence Coben is Executive Director of the SPI.
Charles Stanish is Director of the Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology.
SUPPORT THE SPI
The Sustainable Preservation Initiative is
looking for donors who share its vision of
community-based heritage preservation. To
nd out more about supporting the project,
please visit: www.ioa.ucla.edu/support.
For more information about the Sustainable
Preservation Initiative, visit :
www.sustainablepreservation.org.