India’s heritage sites have huge economic potential

The country currently has 37 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a number we are certain will grow in the years ahead. Each of these sites is a potential hub for economic activity.

The creative and cultural industries are fast becoming key components of modern economies. Their impact on development is both economic and non-economic. The prevalence of cultural sites, services and art forms tends to boost tourism, sustain livelihoods, and attract investment. The non-economic benefits of culture include the preservation of history, the generation of knowledge, and the nurturing of creativity.

UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network helps cities place intangible heritage at the heart of their development plans. In India, thus far Jaipur, Varanasi and Chennai have been designated as Creative Cities by UNESCO because of the central role played by art, crafts and music in local development (HT)

At UNESCO, we believe that the economic opportunities offered by the cultural heritage in India should be further explored. World Heritage Week 2018, which is presently being celebrated across the country by organisations dedicated to preserving and promoting cultural heritage, offers a much needed platform to reflect on the economic potential of heritage.

India currently has 37 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a number we are certain will grow in the years ahead. Each of these sites is a potential hub for economic activity. While tourism offers the most obvious source of revenue, every effort must also be made to develop urban infrastructure and revitalise other forms of heritage around these sites in order to build thriving local economies. As Mahesh Sharma, the Indian Minister of State for Culture observed when Mumbai’s Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in June 2018, international recognition will “boost the local economy”, “give a tremendous fillip to domestic and international tourism”, and lead to “increased employment generation, creation of world-class infrastructure, and augmentation of the sale of local handicrafts”.

The promotion of tourism and related economic activity, however, must be sensitively undertaken. Heritage sites and their surroundings should not be damaged by excessive tourist traffic or the effects of local pollution, as is reportedly happening to monuments such as the Taj Mahal.

Besides World Heritage Sites, intangible cultural heritage too is a major driver of sustainable development. Uniquely, it can address all three dimensions of the 2030 Agenda: economic, social and environmental.

UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network helps cities place intangible heritage at the heart of their development plans. In India, thus far Jaipur, Varanasi and Chennai have been designated as Creative Cities by UNESCO because of the central role played by art, crafts and music in local development. Jaipur’s centuries-old legacy of crafts and folk art currently employs over 175,000 people, and has generated a vibrant ecosystem of heritage festivals and tourism. In Varanasi and Chennai, historic musical traditions have given birth to flourishing music industries and networks of music festivals and academies.

Strategic efforts to promote intangible cultural heritage could directly empower women and other disadvantaged groups. For instance, UNESCO’s state-level partnership with the Government of West Bengal and the NGO Banglanatak has had an outstanding impact on the livelihoods of crafts workers, drawing women, youth and underprivileged communities to the sector in unprecedented numbers. The “Arts for Life” project has established a competitive handicrafts sector in West Bengal by helping develop rural craft hubs, enhancing productivity and building sustainable market linkages. With average monthly incomes of craftspersons in the state almost trebling, and the emergence of a new class of rural entrepreneurs, this is a model of how economic returns from intangible heritage can be optimised.

UNESCO will continue to lead global efforts to achieve key targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These include “protecting and safeguarding the world’s natural and cultural heritage” and “promoting sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”. On the occasion of World Heritage Week 2018, we reaffirm our commitment to work with the Government of India and other partners to realise the socio-economic opportunities inherent in culture.

Eric Falt is director of the UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office and

UNESCO representative to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka