By Burzil Dube CLARION calls for Kamandama Memorial Site in Hwange to be declared a world heritage site have in the past few months been gathering spectacular momentum with Yours Truly leading from the front on ensuring that this dream becomes a reality.
However, this was not to be as it later dawned on Yours Truly when processes and procedures were laid bare on how such issues are handled and executed by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the sole custodians of world heritage status’ licencing.
UNESCO sums up cultural and natural heritage as “irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration…our touchstones, our points of reference and identity”.
What kind of property that exactly qualifies as cultural or natural heritage?
As once again defined by UNESCO, cultural heritages include monuments, such as architectural structures, art and science pieces, while natural heritage includes formations that are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view.
Points of view include conservation, natural beauty, or science whose focus is to bring together unique, irreplaceable, and diverse areas of the world as part of global heritage for common good that belong to everyone regardless of nationality.
Keep Reading
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Special thanks to information gleaned from worldwide web and other related sources.
Back to the brief background of the Kamandama Underground Mine tragedy.
A total of 427 miners perished in the Kamandama Underground Mine shaft on 6 June 1972 making it the country’s worst mining disaster whose cause was attributed to methane gas explosion.
This disaster happened at the then Wankie Colliery Company and a massive tombstone has been erected in what used to be the entrance to the Kamandama shaft in remembrance of the departed miners.
This memorial site has all the potential of being a major tourist attraction judging by the number of enquiries from tour operators and other related hospitality players.
As alluded to above, there have been calls from certain quarters for the site to be accorded a world heritage status because this particular disaster despite having various nationals perishing in the worst mining disaster, it also brought global transformation on coal mining legislation.
Most of these mining laws are currently being applied and have brought great strides within the mining industry.
This annual commemoration which is held on 6 June of every year in Zimbabwe remains as a poignant reminder on implementation of safe mining methods hence efforts for the site to be also included on world heritage site listings.
However, Yours Truly was brought down to Mother Earth after being ‘educated’ on the processes and procedures involved in terms of heritage site formulations.
It is not a proverbial stroll in the park but a labyrinth where patience and comprehension is of utmost importance.
So what are key prerequisites or selection criteria needed for any property to be considered for world heritage status?
The first pointer is masterpiece representation of human creative genius as well as exhibiting important interchange of human values over a span of time or within a cultural of the world. Developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town planning or landscape design are considered as well.
The structure has to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or has disappeared. Another pointer is that it has to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape that illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.
Another factor is that it has to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture, or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under impact of irreversible change.
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. It has to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
Some of the issues include outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features.
The other criteria considered is an outstanding example representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals.
The last criterion is such features under consideration include containing or inclusion of most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.
However, if one is to analyse the above mentioned factors on selection and consideration of world heritage status, Yours Truly is fully convinced on the reason why Zimbabwe has less than to world heritage sites.
Kamandama Memorial Site is nowhere near the commendation but a must visit tourist attraction.
And this is a fact.
Till we meet again in the next column.
- Comments always welcome on: dubebasill@gmail.com or Twitter: @DubeBurzil