Abstract
The Rising from the Depths (RftD) network aims to identify the ways in which Marine Cultural Heritage (MCH) can contribute to the sustainable development of coastal communities in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. Although the coastal and marine heritage of eastern Africa is a valuable cultural and environmental resource, it remains largely unstudied and undervalued and is subject to significant threat from natural and anthropogenic processes of change. This paper outlines the aims of the RftD network and describes the co-creation of a challenge-led research and sustainability programme for the study of MCH in eastern Africa. Through funding 29 challenge-led research projects across these four Global South countries, the network is demonstrating how MCH can directly benefit East African communities and local economies through building identity and place-making, stimulating resource-centred alternative sources of income and livelihoods, and enhancing the value and impact of overseas aid in the marine sector. Overall, Rising from the Depths aims to illustrate that an integrated consideration of cultural heritage, rather than being a barrier to development, should be positioned as a central facet of the transformative development process if that development is to be ethical, inclusive and sustainable.
Highlights
By making East Africa’s Marine Cultural Heritage (MCH) accessible to the wider public, both within the selected countries and globally, this project will have a direct impact on promoting heritage tourism and as well as on the sustainable development of maritime archaeological sites and community activity around, or based on, those sites and MCH more widely
At the core of Rising from the Depths (RftD) is the concept that upscaling MCH awareness and research capacity will create new social and economic opportunities that will, in turn, ensure the protection and preservation of MCH
By ensuring strong participatory local voices in the co-creation of the network and the projects it has funded, RftD actively brings the past and the present together to dynamically explore the relationship between MCH and sustainable development from a wide variety of perspectives, from local employment and small business opportunities to mitigating against the effects of coastal climate change
Summary
The Rising from the Depths network aims to identify in what ways the tangible submerged and coastal heritage of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar, and its associated intangible aspects, can stimulate ethical, inclusive and sustainable community development in the region. These four East African countries are among the economically poorest countries in the world and are vulnerable to the impacts of geopolitical turmoil and environmental change. This paper outlines the research themes and challenges identified during the scoping phase of the Rising from the Depths network and maps out the projects funded so far to present a challenge-led agenda for Marine Cultural Heritage research in the region
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