The ALECSO Observatory has issued the 12th Statistical Bulletin (December 2023) under the title: “Follow-up of SDG Implementation in the Cultural Field in the Arab Countries : Mid-term Report 2015-2022”.
Culture is present in several goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda. Through SDG11, countries have pledged to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Within this goal, Target 11.4 aims to “strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage”.
SDG Indicator 11.4.1 is defined as : Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by type of heritage (cultural, natural, mixed and World Heritage Centre designation), level of government (national, regional and local/municipal), type of expenditure (operating expenditure/investment) and type of private funding (donations in kind, private non-profit sector and sponsorship).
With these indicators being unavailable in several Arab countries, we have relied on available data related to the safeguarding of world heritage, the establishment of museums, and other relevant data.
Analysis of the available date shows that Arab countries possess a significant number of cultural and natural heritage properties, including 93 properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, out of a total of 1199 archaeological sites in the world (7.73 percent).
The Bulletin indicates that cultural heritage in Arab countries faces a number of risks and challenges resulting from wars and armed conflicts, the deliberate destruction of heritage, and the smuggling of and trafficking in antiquities, urban expansion, in addition to the lack of community awareness of the importance of cultural and archeological heritage.
In the face of this situation, the Bulletin underlines the need for Arab States and the relevant Arab organizations to ensure the requisite protection for cultural and natural heritage and provide the necessary means and mechanisms for its preservation, heritage being an integral part of the identity of the Arab peoples.
The bulletin can be accessed via the following link:
