Legacy of Rock Art

This project began as a result of a meeting organized in Harare, Zimbabwe, by the World Heritage Centre in 1995. During this event, Southern African countries were encouraged to ratify UNESCO's World Heritage Convention. Participants recognized that rock art is a legacy of African heritage that transcends political boundaries. All participating countries agreed to work toward a common vision for the conservation and management of rock paintings and engravings, and to share experiences and expertise. About sixty participants from ten countries attended courses and subsequent workshops held between 1996 and 2002. All participating countries, with the exception of Swaziland, have signed the convention. As a result, four rock art sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, and two more have been nominated.

In 2003 the Conservation Institute commissioned a feasibility study to identify areas rich in rock art in the Republic of South Africa where an interpretation and management program, either for education or tourism, could serve as a model for sustainable conservation and community participation for similar sites in the Southern African subcontinent. Areas were assessed according to the following criteria:

• include several sites with either paintings or engravings that offer high quality rock art in reasonable quantity
• be situated in a local, provincial, or national park or nature reserve with stable management
• have an enthusiastic management structure prepared to offer quality assistance and commitment on a partnership basis
• include conservation problems that could provide challenges for research and development
• preferably be close to a community of Khoi-San descent interested in becoming involved in the site's protection and development
• be reasonably easy to incorporate into existing educational and/or tourism structures in the region
• have enough challenges to warrant inviting rock art site managers from elsewhere in Southern Africa to participate in the development program, establish mutual contacts, and see the evolution of a viable project firsthand

The two listed World Heritage Sites identified were Mapungubwe National Park on the southern bank of the Limpopo River, which forms the northern border of South Africa with Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the Cederberg Wilderness Area in the southwest of South Africa, a part of the Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site. Convinced of the value of the approach, the Conservation Institute initiated a collaborative effort through the project that involved the South African National Parks (SANParks), the Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, CapeNature (a provincial nature conservation authority), the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), and the Clanwilliam Living Landscape project based at the University of Cape Town.

A meeting of relevant stakeholders was held at the Conservation Institute in August 2004 to establish short- and long-term objectives. Training, conservation, and stakeholder relationships were identified as the key issues to be addressed. The agreed-upon strategy for 2005 through 2009 was to arrange annual workshops and training courses to build capacity among staff in national parks and provincial nature reserves in all Southern African countries and to also involve other stakeholders responsible for rock art promotion and management.

In 2009 the Institute assessed the work of the project over the 2005–2008 period. The aims of the assessment were to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program in order to plan for future activities, and to secure agreement on contributions from prospective partner organizations in moving forward during the 2010–2012 period. Feedback from past training participants was solicited through a questionnaire and face-to-face discussions. The assessment also included a meeting organized by the Institute and hosted by RARI thatwas attended by a number of SARAP stakeholders, including from RARI, SANParks, CapeNature, the Tanzanian Division of Antiquities, the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, the Trust for African Rock Art, Leadership for Conservation in Africa, the Peace Parks Foundation, and training participants. These organizations provided opportunities for project activities during the 2010–2012 period.