WORLD BANK OPERATIONS EVALUATION DEPARTMENT SPRING 2002 NUMBER 220 Cultural Properties in Policy and Practice T he World Bank has a long history and extensive experience with cultural properties dating back to the reconstruction of postwar Europe. Since then, the Bank's approach to matters of culture has evolved considerably through its work with environ- mental and social assessment and community-based activities. The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) evaluation takes stock of the Bank's experience with its policy framework and recommends actions to improve its effectiveness in its work with physical cultural properties. What Has the Bank Done? projects implemented in areas with signifi- Because its work with cultural properties is cant cultural heritage and where activities, often only a project component, informa- if any, were not documented (31); cultural tion about the scope of Bank involvement heritage components or subcomponents of and the implementation of Bank-financed larger projects (70); stand-alone cultural projects involving cultural properties is not heritage projects (35); and cultural her- readily obtainable. To find out what has itage grants (30). been done, OED developed a database of The Bank's portfolio of analytic work Bank activities in cultural heritage (see fig- in cultural heritage is neither large nor ure 1). It identified 217 Bank loans, credits, comprehensive; OED found only 26 such and grants that included cultural heritage activities. Three of these were recent activities. These activities vary in size, from Regional sector strategy papers in the a $5 million loan to restore cultural prop- Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and erties in Georgia to a $172,000 grant for a the Pacific, and Middle East and North cultural inventory in Albania. They are dis- Africa Regions. Of 108 Country Assis- tributed throughout the world, with no tance Strategies reviewed, only 16 mention single Region dominating, although South cultural heritage, usually where it provides Asia has notably fewer activities than other a large economic return. Tourism studies Regions, and the Middle East and North have been done for two countries (Costa Africa accounts for the largest dollar share Rica and Guatemala). of the lending. The activities are in many sectors, but the urban, energy, and envi- How Well Has the Bank Done? ronment sectors account for more than half The outcome of most of the Bank's 65 cul- the total (see figure 2). tural heritage projects and grants is not yet The projects and grants having cultural known, as the only ones that have been heritage activities are of five types: proj- completed are older projects focused on ects with "do no harm" measures (51); tourism. Moreover, typical cultural her- 2 World Bank Operations Evaluiation Department Figure 1: What is Cultural Heritage? construction materials in the historic areas, major construc- tion in a national park zone, and road widening that Cultural heritage has both physical and intangible aspects, as shown below. ted in the dsructoneo a l ro perties resulted in the destruction of cultural properties. The weakest areas of performance were sustainability and institutional development, both of which task man- agers reported as shortcomings. This is not unique to cul- tural heritage activities, however; the task manager ratings for both criteria are nearly identical to the 20-year Bank- wide average for all projects. What Are the Lessons of Experience? Identify Assets. The identification of cultural heritage sites is an important first step. A project is far more likely to do Physical culture includes monuments, strucrtures, works of art, or sites of "outstanding harm in a culturally sensitive area when the extent and universal value" from the historical, aesthetic, scientific, ethnological, or anthropological point of view. Cultural propertycomprises sites and structures of archaeological, nature of the cultural properties are unknown. World Bank paleontological, historical, architectural, or religious significance, and natural sites with guidance on cultural heritage (provided in the Environmen- cultural values. This definition is used in both Operational Policy Note 11,03, "Managing tal Assessment Sourcebook, particularly in Update No. 8, Cultural Property in World Bank-Financed Projects" (currently being converted into an Operational Policy) and in the EnvironmentalAssessment Sourcebook(World Bank 1994) "Cultural Heritage i Environmental Assessment," Septem- the main source of operational guidance on cultural heritage in Bank projects. The OED ber 1994) recommends that Bank staff work with national study uses the term "cultural heritage" to refer to both material and non-material culture or local cultural heritage authorities to review potential and the term "cultural property" to refer to material fixed assets. impacts on cultural heritage as part of the environmental Source: UNESCO, Inlernational Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Nalural screening process. Following this initial review, if war- Heritage, Section . "Detinition of the Cultural and Natural Heritage," Article 1. ranted, qualified personnel should conduct an archaeologi- cal and historic sites survey. These procedures make sense, but several of them suffer from a lack of enforceable stan- itage activities in Bank-supported projects are small, and dards, which may explain why the OED study found that documentation of the activities is usually poor. To fill this inventories are not routinely done. gap in knowledge about performance, OED conducted Physical Development Planning. Integrated conserva- fieldwork and asked task managers to evaluate cultural tion planning, in use by conservationists since 1987, is a heritage activities in their projects. The results suggest that dynamic interdisciplinary process that shapes urban and performance in cultural heritage is uneven, but better over- regional planning at every level. OED found no evidence all than the Bank average. that it was systematically being used in Bank-sponsored The average outcome of projects with major cultural projects. In urban areas, city-wide planning needs to take heritage components is judged to be satisfactory based on place. In Brazil's Bahia/Salvador Urban Development Pro- OED ratings for completed projects and on project supervi- ject, for example, work that was both geographically and sion ratings for ongoing projects. (Grants, which are not socially distant from the historic district that was its main subject to the same evaluation regime as projects, are focus was also taken into account. Physical improvements excluded from the analysis of performance.) The self- to the historic city center include necessary infrastructure assessment exercise by task managers resulted in an out- and services. But the project also addressed the mainte- come rating of satisfactory for 82 percent of the 44 project nance of beaches and related facilities at the city's edge. It activities evaluated. This compares favorably with the Bank was understood that increasing regional tourism potential average of 69 percent satisfactory for projects. Other evi- would increase the return on investments in the city center; dence is more mixed, however. For example, Bank task therefore, recreational activities throughout the region managers surveyed for this study estimated that only about received attention, increasing the number of tourists and 64 percent of relevant projects addressed cultural property the amount of time they spend in the historic area. issues in a technically professional manner. Other Bank Sequence Improvements. If infrastructure inadequacies studies have found weaknesses in the identification of prevail, they will do damage once the asset is restored. For potential effects on cultural property during the appraisal example, irreversible structural damage to walls and foun- of Bank projects. dations can result from water coming in from the roof or OED-sponsored field visits by cultural heritage special- from the ground. In Georgia, water seeping into the base- ists to 30 ongoing or completed projects found that 6 proj- ments of historic residential structures in Old Town Tbilisi ects had been inadequately screened for cultural property, was causing severe damage to the foundations. Until the although the shortcomings generally pre-dated the Bank's seepage problem was solved, it was pointless to restore the safeguard policy on cultural properties. Other shortcom- buildings. The Bank-financed Cultural Heritage Project, ings observed included a lack of satisfactory reconnaissance however, had limited resources and could not have solved surveys before work was done, the use of inappropriate this problem alone. A solution was found by synchronizing Pr6cis 220 3 Figure 2: The Activities Are in Many Sectors and often benefited from locals' knowledge of appropriate Figur 2:TheActivitiesAretechnologies and their creative problem-solving capacities. Education 1% Important physical assets often still exist because the coIml- Public Sector 1% munity maintains them or they are in active use. This was 1Finance 1% /the case in the historic Chinese city of Lijiang (in Dayan Multisector5% Old Town), where the Yunnan Earthquake Reconstruction Urban Industry 5% Program restored and upgraded historic structures main- 23% £ Water tained through continuous occupation through the 6% centuries. 4 \ Agriculture Timely Institutional Assessment. Effective development of 7% national institutions responsible for cuitiral heritage is a long, slow process, but is essential to improvinig performanice Social in the sector. One problem is that the weaknesses of these Protection 8% institutions are often discovered too late because the special- Energy ists responsible for initial analysis and recommenidationis are 18%/ Transportation often not involved in project implementation and monitor- Environment 10% ing. Site visits in some countries also found an obvious lack Environment 15% of commllunication between agencies responsible for cultural heritage and related sectors, such as tourism and public Note:lncludesall projects(1978-2000)withaBank-designatedsectorthatisnotcultural heritage. works. The capacity needs of national cultural institutiolns The environment sector includes 10 Global Environment Facility projects, some of which the Bank o r has cotinanced, others of which the Bank is only administering. Include: formmg or revisig legal and regulatory structurcs; evaluation of cultural resources; analysis of conservation requirements; priority setting; coordination with line mni- the efforts of the project with the ongoing Municipal istries; and public information and education policies. Development and Decentralization Project. Social Impacts. Bank-financed activities involving cul- The Future of Culture in the Bank tural property are ultimately intended to benefit the sur- The Bank cannot avoid involvement with cultural proper- rounding community. Good practice requires the ties when it is lending for infrastructure, urban revitaliza- anticipation and mitigation of negative social impacts that tion, and rural development-activities that almost always could result from efforts to conserve physical assets. In have an impact on physical culture assets. Similarly, envi- major Brazilian cities, for example, the trend toward ronmental and emergency reconstruction projects may have service-oriented economies linked to global industry and important consequences for physical culture. Hence, the tourism has increased the value of historic city centers. Bank needs a minimum core of competency to deal with Most of the historic monuments and sites are in these cen- cultural properties. The Bank is currently working to ters. Housing other cultural and economic activities there increase its attention to cultural heritage in the projects it can make central locations even more attractive. But what finances. Yet the Bank's work in cultural heritage has suf- happens to the poor residents of these areas? Sometimes fered for lack of a thorough analysis of its comparative they voluntarily relocate. Rising property values provide advantage. Without clear guidance regarding wheni the an incentive to cash in and move on. In many cases, the Bank should get involved, it is impossible for the Bank to revitalization of a neighborhood is part of a larger urban be selective about its interventions. Without clear guidance program that improves economic opportunities, leading to on good practice, it is impossible for the Bank to ensure the relocation of jobs and better access to work that adequate protection of cultural properties. encourages demographic changes. Where involuntary dis- The state of knowledge about cultural heritage in the placement occurs, it is necessary to consider mechanisms Bank is improving, but several gaps need to be filled. Bank for protecting the poor, the availability of alternative low- staff need to be familiar with standard practice in the coIn- income housing, access to employment generated by the servation field. Many countries do not have inventories of project, and incentives or access to credit for activities that their cultural assets, and where they are available, task can offer these alternatives. managers are often unaware of their existence. Finding Local Community Participation. Bringing together information about cultural elements in Bank projects (and those who live near an asset and those whose actions are their costs) is often difficult. Information about the history, destroying it may be the best way to preserve physical and cultural assets, and legislative/institutional framework of a living culture, and to ensure ongoing use by the surround- country needs to be collected systematically, and local proj- ing community. Field visits found many instances where an ect area data need to be made available to project man- effort was made early in the project design to involve local agers. Cultural heritage concerns also need to be reflected government and communities. Projects prepared in a par- in Country Assistance Strategies and National Environmen- ticipatory manner were more likely to gain local support tal Action Plans. In-country institutionial capacity to imple- 4 World Bank Operations Evaluation Department ment heritage plans needs support. Bank-supported meas- ures to enhance borrower capacity should accompany Executive Directors' Perspective improved and borrower-managed procedures. While the The Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) Bank's Environmental and Socially Sustainable Develop- thanked OED for a comprehensive review of this difficult but ment Network is providing advisory services to help Bank important issue, and voiced overall support for OED's find- staff address these gaps, much more support from special- ings. The Committee noted that although cultural heritage is ized partners is needed. not a corporate or global priority under the Bank's strategic The Necessity of Partnership. Partnerships in support of directions framework it is still important to address it as part country cultural programs work best when there is an agreed of the Bank's work in the context of poverty reduction. The policy framework "owned" by the borrowing country, when members added that the Bank's approach to cultural sector professionals clarify the Bank's core competencies and resources should generate awareness of the context in which comparative advantage vis-a-vis partners, and when the the Bank operates, and not address cultural heritage as a sin- Bank establishes businesslike alliances (that benefit both par- gle, separate corporate priority. CODE agreed with OED on ties) with appropriate sharing of responsibility. The utility of the need for the Bank to address the "do no harm" aspects of partnerships depends on their potential efficacy and quality. cultural resources within the scope of the Bank's safeguard To work in cultural heritage, the Bank needs to work in col- policies and to provide more practical guidance to staff with laboration with UNESCO, but UNESCO cannot be the respect to applying "do good" aspects. But members cau- Bank's only partner. The Bank also needs to seek out tioned against extending the scope of such "do good" activi- national partners with complementary strengths. ties, except under circumstances where they clearly Continuous Evaluation. The data collected and ana- contributed directly to poverty reduction. lyzed by the OED study will not be the last word on the Bank's strengths and weaknesses in cultural heritage. Recent experiences with mainstreaming culture should be evaluated when a sufficient number of projects has been completed. Research on Culture and Development. If the Bank is to contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015, it will need to explore the importance of culture to achieving that goal. But the cm connection between cultural heritage and poverty is under- Director-General, Operations Evaluation: Robert Picciotto researched. Ongoing research by the Bank should con- Director, Operations Evaluation Department: Gregory Ingram tribute knowledge in this area. Documenting the poverty Manager, Sector and Thematic Evaluation: Alain Barbu reduction impacts of the Bank's work with culture and Task Manager: Ronald Parker identifying the types of support for culture that have the greaestpovrtyreduction impacts will improve the poverty > This Precis, written by William Huribur, is based on Cultural greatest poverty Properties in Policy and Practice: A Review of World Bank Experience, reduction stemming from investments in cultural assets. Report 23369, by Ronald Parker, Senior Evaluation Officer, Sector and Thematic Evaluation Group, OED. 0 Precis are available to Bank Executive Directors and staff from the Internal Documents Unit and from regional information service centers, and to the public from the World Bank InfoShop. Precis are also available at no charge by contacting the OED Help Desk: eline@worldbank.org or calling 1-202/458-4497. Management Response Precis Management was in broad agreement with the report's find- Manager, Partnerships and Knowledge: Osvaldo Feinstein a ings and recommendations, including the need to focus more Editor-in-Chief: Elizabeth Campbell-Pagg * Series Editor: systematically on assuring that projects financed by the Bank Caroline McEuen * Dissemination: Juicy Qureisbi-Huq would do no harm to physical cultural property. Because of DISCLAIMER: OED Precis are produced by the World Bank Operations the contextual and site-specific issues involved, it was their Evaluation Department, Partnerships and Knowledge Group (OEDPK), view that a Regional approach was most appropriate. Man- Outreach and Dissemination Unit. The views in this paper are those of agement also noted that the conversion of OPN 11.03 to the Operations Evaluation staff and editors and should not be attributed OP/BP 4.11, "Physical Cultural Resources," was well to the World Bank, its affiliated organizations, or its Executive Directors. advanced, and would be key in providing clarity to staff. Precis aussi disponible et franfais Precis en espaniol tanibien disponible @ http://www.worldbank.org/htnl/oed Precis 220 Cultural Properties in Policy and Practice ISSN 1564-6297