Good practices for protecting sites

The basis of all protection is the inventory: precise location, boundaries, description, condition, photographs, 3D surveys. It makes it possible to know what there is to protect and to spot changes. It also serves as evidence in case of looting, to identify stolen objects.

OIMAP recommends keeping a copy of the inventory outside the country, to guarantee its survival in a crisis. Simple tools, usable on a phone, allow local teams to contribute.

A management plan sets the objectives, access rules, works, responsibilities and funding of the site. It is drafted with stakeholders: authorities, researchers, residents, tourism operators. It is revised every five years.

Monitoring combines guarding, patrols, suitable fencing, lighting, cameras and residents' reports. Guards, even more so when recruited locally and trained, are the most effective element of the system.

Neighbouring communities know the site, are proud of it or fear it. By involving them in management, employing them, passing back to them part of the revenue, they are made the first protectors. Workshops, guided visits and local festivals sustain the link.

Tourism showcasing, well conducted, finances protection: ticketing, shop, accommodation. It must remain moderate, with suitable visitor capacity, so as not to degrade the site. Revenue should benefit the region first.

Site managers form a network run by OIMAP: annual meetings, online exchanges, cross visits. They share their solutions, their mistakes and their tools. This network now has one hundred and forty members in forty countries.

It plays a role of alert and advice: a manager faced with looting can seek the view of a colleague who has been through the same situation.