Goa gets sustainable heritage policy, pvt homes to benefit

Panaji: Govt on Wednesday approved the Goa State Heritage Policy, which is a comprehensive framework aimed at conserving, protecting, and promoting Goa’s unique cultural, historical, and natural heritage.

The policy envisages including heritage conservation in academic curricula and promoting heritage tourism through curated experiences. The policy also includes incentives for private heritage properties.

Global best practices and localised strategies have been used to create the policy. It ensures heritage preservation while enabling sustainable development and fostering community engagement.

Heritage policies play a crucial role in preserving cultural and historical assets at the national level. Countries worldwide have implemented diverse legal and administrative frameworks to safeguard their cultural heritage.

Significant heritage conservation practices from various countries arranged by continents serve as reference points for shaping the Goa State Heritage Policy, the cabinet said.

Govt decided to draft the heritage policy primarily to make provisions for the promotion of heritage in its authentic form without affecting its values.

A heritage policy for Goa was needed to focus on conservation, preservation, restoration, management, and promotion, and to prepare guidelines to achieve those goals.

The drafting process followed a structured mandate with a focus on 14 core areas aimed at creating a robust policy framework to preserve and promote Goa’s tangible and intangible heritage while fostering sustainable development.

Key directives included legislative reforms, the integration of private heritage homes into broader heritage preservation and tourism strategies and the alignment of Goa’s efforts with global standards like those of Unesco and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

The establishment of community-centric approaches to heritage conservation was another directive.

The policy underscores an integrated strategy for conservation, focusing on tangible assets such as historical monuments, religious landmarks, and traditional village architecture, as well as intangible heritage, including festivals, traditional crafts, and oral traditions.

A significant feature of the policy is the emphasis on legislative reforms, conservation guidelines, and private heritage homes, with provisions for financial assistance, technical support, and recognition programmes to aid in their maintenance.

It also promotes the adaptive reuse of these properties for sustainable purposes such as cultural tourism and educational initiatives, ensuring the preservation of their historical and cultural value.

“Incorporating best practices from national and international frameworks, the policy includes a robust digital documentation initiative to catalogue and safeguard Goa’s heritage assets for global accessibility and future generations,” the cabinet said.