DO

The DO stage includes updating SHIRA and developing and implementing a CHMP if necessary.

Sites are required to develop a CHMP If impacts are likely on tangible cultural heritage and/or if intangible cultural heritage is practised amongst affected communities.

If cultural heritage impacts are restricted to Indigenous Peoples, the CHMP should be developed in line with the guidance in this chapter, but should be integrated into the Indigenous Peoples Plan (see Section 4I).

Cultural heritage impacts resulting from or associated with physical or economic displacement must be included in the CHMP and managed in accordance with this standard. As such, if graves are identified as displaced assets under the Land Access, Displacement and Resettlement standard (see Section 4F), the Cultural Heritage standard is triggered and a Grave Relocation Process (GRP) is required to relocate the graves (see 4H.2 Task 5).

If scoping suggests impacts are unlikely or minimal, only a CFP will be required. However, sites should continue to anticipate and track impacts through their Stakeholder Engagement (see Section 3A), Incident and Grievance Management (see Section 3B), SHIRA (see Section 3C) and relevant Management Plans (see Section 4).

Task 3 – Update SHIRA

Cultural heritage impacts should be assessed, and a summary of risks and impacts included in SHIRA.

The spatially referenced inventory of known, tangible cultural heritage should be mapped and overlaid on the site footprint, including licence area, cadastral boundaries, infrastructure locations, blasting zones and other relevant information. The social performance team, together with relevant specialists, should analyse each cultural heritage site to determine the potential for, and the nature and timing of, adverse impacts.

Impacts on intangible cultural heritage may be less easy to anticipate and may only become apparent over time. Social change may be driven as much by the positive opportunities created by the site as by any disruptive activities. Social performance teams should therefore adopt a precautionary approach: identifying and documenting any intangible cultural heritage practised by affected communities and planning on the assumption that the long-term presence of the site will have a substantial impact. In the event that significant impacts are likely, these should be managed and monitored as part of the CHMP. This may also require the development of a Grave Relocation Plan.

States that are signatories to the Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage¹ are obliged to compile inventories of intangible cultural heritage on their territories. UNESCO itself maintains a List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and a Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity². These can be used as a reference point.

Some forms of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage may not be protected under national legislation or may not even be recognised by the authorities. Sites will need specialist support but should not rely exclusively on expert advice. A process of engagement with affected communities is needed to establish whether certain practices are expressions of a community’s cultural identity.

Assessment of impacts on tangible and intangible cultural heritage should be summarised in SHIRA and recorded in the site’s Baseline workplace risk assessment and control (WRAC) (see Section 3C). The process for assessing vulnerability in relation to cultural heritage and final consequence and prioritisation should follow the steps outlined in 3C.

The assessment or potential impacts and risks should inform project/site design decisions, as well as the development of the CHMP (if needed) and CFP; for example:

• If a cultural heritage site of exceptional significance or irreplaceable value has been identified, engineering plans may need to be redesigned to avoid that particular place
• Where cultural heritage is identified within the site’s footprint and likely to be impacted by new infrastructure, the appropriate mitigation measures should be agreed with the relevant authorities and stakeholders and implemented in advance. The measures should be incorporated into the project schedule
• If removal of cultural heritage is unavoidable, sites should engage in good-faith negotiations prior to taking any action. This should involve:
• Assessing stakeholders’ willingness to engage in the process, and their availability to meet at reasonable times and frequency
• Providing project-related information relevant to the cultural heritage impact in question to enable informed participation during the negotiation process
• Discussion and exploration of key issues of importance
• Mutually acceptable procedures for the negotiation
• Willingness to change initial positions, modify offers where possible and allow sufficient time for decision-making
• Where cultural heritage is identified within the mine site’s footprint and unlikely to be impacted, it is preferable to leave it in situ, especially graves and cemeteries. However, an adequate buffer area around the site should be demarcated and access agreed with relevant stakeholders
• Impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ intangible (living) cultural heritage should be avoided wherever possible. If unavoidable, extensive consultation is required with a view to obtaining Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) (see Section 4I).

Integration of cultural heritage management into the Life of Asset Plan process is critical (see Section 2). Proposed site changes and developments contained in the Plan should be assessed for their potential impacts on cultural heritage to allow for design changes, where necessary, or ensure advanced planning for mitigation measures.

______________________________________

¹ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2003) Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Available at: https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention (Accessed: December 2019)

² United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Purpose of the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and of the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. Available at: https://ich.unesco.org/en/purpose-of-the-lists-00807 (Accessed: December 2019)