The discussant will present information and answer questions about the Asian Development Bank's new 2024 Environmental Standard: Cultural Heritage.
Environmental and Social Standard 8: Cultural Heritage, is now live as part of ADB’s new ESF. Its development was a part of the five-year long Safeguard Policy Review and Update (SPRU), starting in 2020 with an effectiveness review of ADB’s 2009 policy. Each of the 10 new standards was drafted by a working group with tasks including: consultation with external experts, benchmarking, and conducting other technical studies. Each major step was subject to public consultation. Policy text saw multiple internal and external reviews with Board approval in 2024. The journey from SPS to ESF was influenced by the 2020 internal review, improvements of other post-2009 lender policies, and above all, the evolving Good International Practice in the now globally recognized field of cultural heritage management. Among the most influential trends was, the World Bank’s explicit policy recognition of the different types of cultural heritage (e.g. archeological sites vs. built heritage), required distinct policy requirements. Improvements coming from the practice of technical communities included explicit protection of intangible aspects of cultural heritage, increased emphasis on traditional communities, and the explicit reference to human burials and underwater cultural heritage. The volume of cultural heritage policy language grew from a 2009 SPS word count of 450 to ESS8 3200. This increased emphasis reflects ADB’s recognition of a broader trend in the development and IA world, that proactive and respectful treatment of cultural heritage is a key to successful development projects.
Emlen Myers is a cultural heritage generalist with twenty-five years of experience supporting the development and implementation of international lender standards for heritage management.