CHAPTER VI SAFEGUARDING INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL  

       170. With a view to effectively implementing the Convention, States Parties shall endeavour, by all appropriate means, to recognize the importance and strengthen the role of intangible cultural heritage as a driver and guarantee of sustainable development, as well as fully integrate the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage into their development plans, policies and programmes at all levels. While recognizing the interdependence between the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development, States Parties shall strive to maintain a balance between the three dimensions of sustainable development (the economic, social and environmental), as well as their interdependence with peace and security, in their safeguarding efforts and shall to this end facilitate cooperation with relevant experts, cultural brokers and mediators through a participatory approach. States Parties shall acknowledge the dynamic nature of intangible cultural heritage in both urban and rural contexts and shall direct their safeguarding efforts solely on such intangible cultural heritage that is compatible with existing international human rights instruments, as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and of sustainable development.

       171. Insofar as their development plans, policies and programmes involve intangible cultural heritage or may potentially affect its viability, States Parties shall endeavour to:

       (a) ensure the widest possible participation of communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals that create, maintain and transmit such heritage, and involve them actively in elaboration and implementation of such plans, policies and programmes;

       (b) ensure that those communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals concerned are the primary beneficiaries, both in moral and in material terms, of any such plans, policies and programmes;

       (c) ensure that such plans, policies and programmes respect ethical considerations and do not negatively affect the viability of the intangible cultural heritage concerned or decontextualize or denaturalize that heritage;

       (d) facilitate cooperation with sustainable development experts and cultural brokers for the appropriate integration of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage into plans, policies and programmes, both within and outside the cultural sector.

       172. States Parties shall endeavour to take full cognizance of the potential and actual impacts of all development plans and programmes on intangible cultural heritage, particularly in the context of environmental, social, economic and cultural impact assessment processes.

       173. States Parties shall endeavour to recognize, promote and enhance the importance of intangible cultural heritage as a strategic resource to enable sustainable development. To that end, States Parties are encouraged to:

       (a) foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities and groups themselves, aimed at understanding the diversity of issues linked to protection of various rights of the communities, groups and individuals, connected to the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage;

       (b) adopt appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures, in particular through the application of intellectual property rights, privacy rights and any other appropriate forms of legal protection, to ensure that the rights of the communities, groups and individuals that create, bear and transmit their intangible cultural heritage are duly protected when raising awareness about their heritage or engaging in commercial activities.

       174. States Parties shall endeavour to ensure that their safeguarding plans and programmes are fully inclusive of all sectors and strata of society, including indigenous peoples, migrants, immigrants and refugees, people of different ages and genders, persons with disabilities and members of vulnerable groups, in conformity with Article 11 of the Convention.

       175. States Parties are encouraged to foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities or groups themselves and by non-governmental organizations, aimed at understanding the contributions of intangible cultural heritage to sustainable development and its importance as a resource for dealing with development problems and at demonstrating its value with clear evidence, including appropriate indicators if possible.

       176. States Parties shall endeavour to ensure that inscriptions of intangible cultural heritage on the Convention’s lists as provided in Articles 16 and 17 of the Convention and the selection of best safeguarding practices as provided in Article 18 of the Convention are used to advance the Convention’s goals of safeguarding and sustainable development and are not misused to the detriment of the intangible cultural heritage and communities, groups or individuals concerned, in particular for short-term economic gain.

VI.1 Inclusive social development

       177. States Parties are encouraged to recognize that inclusive social development comprehends issues such as sustainable food security, quality health care, quality education for all, gender equality and access to safe water and sanitation, and that these goals should be underpinned by inclusive governance and the freedom for people to choose their own value systems.

VI.1.1 Food security

       178. States Parties shall endeavour to ensure the recognition of, respect for and enhancement of those farming, fishing, hunting, pastoral, food-gathering, food preparation and food preservation knowledge and practices, including their related rituals and beliefs, that contribute to food security and adequate nutrition and that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage. To that end, States Parties are encouraged to:

       (a) foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities or groups themselves, aimed at understanding the diversity of those knowledge and practices, demonstrating their efficacy, identifying and promoting their contributions to maintaining agro-biodiversity, providing food security and strengthening their resilience to climate change;

       (b) adopt appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures, including codes or other tools of ethics, to promote and/or regulate access to farming, fishing, hunting, pastoral and food gathering, food preparation and food preservation knowledge and practices, that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage, as well as equitable sharing of the benefits they generate, and ensure the transmission of such knowledge and practices;

       (c) adopt appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures to recognize and respect the customary rights of communities and groups to those land, sea and forest ecosystems necessary for their farming, fishing, pastoral and food-gathering knowledge and practices that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage.

VI.1.2 Health care

       179. States Parties shall endeavour to ensure the recognition of, respect for and enhancement of those health practices that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage and that contribute to their well-being, including their related knowledge, genetic resources, practices, expressions, rituals and beliefs, and to harness their potential to contribute to achieving quality health care for all. To that end, they are encouraged to:

       (a) foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities and groups themselves, aimed at understanding the diversity of health care practices that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage, demonstrating their functions and efficacy and identifying their contributions to meeting health care needs;

       (b) adopt appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures, in consultation with knowledge holders, healers and practitioners, to promote access to healing knowledge and raw materials, participation in healing practices, and transmission of such knowledge and practices that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage while respecting customary practices governing access to specific aspects of them;

       (c) enhance collaboration and complementarity among the diversity of health care practices and systems.

VI.1.3 Quality education

       180. Within their respective educational systems and policies, States Parties shall endeavour, by all appropriate means, to ensure recognition of, respect for and enhancement of the intangible cultural heritage in society, emphasizing its particular role in transmitting values and life skills and contributing to sustainable development, in particular through specific educational and training programmes within the communities and groups concerned and through non-formal means of transmitting knowledge. To that end, States Parties are encouraged to:

       (a) adopt appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures to:

       (i) ensure that educational systems promote respect for one’s self, one’s community or group, mutual respect for others and do not in any way alienate people from their intangible cultural heritage, characterize their communities or groups as not participating in contemporary life or harm in any way their image;

        (ii) ensure that intangible cultural heritage is integrated as fully as possible into the content of educational programmes of all relevant disciplines, both as a contribution in its own right and as a means of explaining or demonstrating other subjects at the curricular, crosscurricular and extra-curricular levels;

        (iii) recognize the importance, along with innovative safeguarding methods, of modes and methods of transmitting intangible cultural heritage that are themselves recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage, and seek to harness their potential within formal and nonformal education systems;

       (b) enhance collaboration and complementarity among the diversity of educational practices and systems;

       (c) foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities and groups themselves, aimed at understanding the diversity of pedagogical methods that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage and assessing their efficacy and suitability for integration into other educational contexts;

       (d) promote education for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the protection of natural spaces and places of memory whose existence is necessary for expressing the intangible cultural heritage.

VI.1.4 Gender equality

       181. States Parties shall endeavour to foster the contributions of intangible cultural heritage and its safeguarding to greater gender equality and to eliminating gender-based discrimination while recognizing that communities and groups pass on their values, norms and expectations related to gender through intangible cultural heritage and it is, therefore, a privileged context in which group and community members’ gender identities are shaped. To that end, States Parties are encouraged to:

       (a) take advantage of the potential of intangible cultural heritage and of its safeguarding to create common spaces for dialogue on how best to achieve gender equality, taking into account the diverse perspectives of all stakeholders;

       (b) promote the important role that intangible cultural heritage and its safeguarding can play in building mutual respect among communities and groups whose members may not share the same conceptions of gender;

       (c) assist communities and groups in examining expressions of their intangible cultural heritage with regard to their impact and potential contribution to enhancing gender equality and to take the results of this examination into account in decisions to safeguard, practice, transmit and promote at the international level these expressions;

       (d) foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities and groups themselves, aimed at understanding the diversity of gender roles within particular expressions of intangible cultural heritage;

       (e) ensure gender equality in the planning, management and implementation of safeguarding measures, at all levels and in all contexts, in order to take full advantage of the diverse perspectives of all members of society.

VI.1.5 Access to clean and safe water and sustainable water use

       182. States Parties shall endeavour to ensure the viability of water management systems that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage and that promote equitable access to safe drinking water and sustainable water use, notably in agriculture and other subsistence activities. To that end, States Parties are encouraged to:

       (a) foster scientific studies and research methodologies, including those conducted by the communities and groups themselves, aimed at understanding the diversity of those water management systems that are recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their intangible cultural heritage and identifying their contributions to meeting environmental and water-related development needs, as well as how to strengthen their resilience in the face of climate change;

       (b) adopt appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures to identify, enhance and promote such systems in order to respond to water needs and climate change challenges at the local, national and international levels.