The management of natural and cultural heritage: a comparative study from Jordan

Abstract

Heritage management is employed by many countries to facilitate site development as well as to assist in the preservation of heritage. Heritage management is particularly complex because public and private, and sometimes local communities are involved. Despite the fact that some literature is devoted to the protection and management of heritage sites, little research has compared the management practices between natural and cultural heritage and detailed comparative studies that are undertaken from this perspective are rare. Thus this study can be considered as one of the few, internationally, and possibly the first, locally, that compares the management process in the two main types of heritage: cultural and natural. Specifically, this study focuses on two main aspects of the management process, namely: the administrative and heritage legal system and local community involvement, aspects that have not been investigated in any prior research in Jordan. The study selected two case studies from Jordan: Umm Qais as a cultural heritage and Ajloun Forest Reserve as a natural heritage. The researchers adopted two methods in order to collect the required data. Personal interviews and direct observation were carried out at the archaeological site of Umm Qais as a cultural heritage site and Ajloun Forest Reserve as a natural heritage site. The study reveals that while Ajloun Forest Reserve is putting a lot of effort to manage its natural heritage, the main aim at Umm Qais is to attract more tourists. The study establishes that the heritage legal and administrative system in Ajloun forest reserve is stronger than the system applied at the archaeological site of Umm Qais, and that local community involvement is more well rooted in Ajloun Forest Reserve management policies than in Umm Qais. However implementing integrated legislation and involving the local community helps heritage managers towards public action and thoughts. Thus, this study may aid heritage operators to improve their policies in regard of heritage management.