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Safeguarding Cultural Heritage

By Asian Development Bank

June 4^th, 2026

Cultural diversity across Asia and the Pacific has had an enduring influence on world culture and civilization, including advances in urban architecture, city planning, irrigation, philosophical, artistic and religious systems, and technologies.

Cultural heritage is what communities keep from their past to use in the future. It is the knowledge and things that a society or a community value most from its past and thus chooses to retain. When cultural heritage is safeguarded and celebrated, it can foster diversity and respect.

The sites, places, and objects saved from the past, by accident or intention, represent a public good that should be safeguarded, as do the ideas, knowledge, and practices they embody. Though seemingly static, cultural heritage is a dynamic resource.

Temple of Bagan, Central Plain of Myanmar, Mandalay (Photo from stock.adobe.com)

Folk dance by ethnic Naxi people. (Photo by ADB)

ADB recognizes that the Asia and the Pacific region of today is the product of a long archaeological and diverse cultural past, and that the value of this cultural heritage will only increase with the passage of time.

Unique and often irreplaceable, identifying, assessing and safeguarding cultural heritage in ADB projects is therefore critical. The Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) recognizes this, and provides clearer and more specific guidance to protect tangible and intangible cultural heritage, ensuring it is safeguarded for future generations.

Archaeological excavation in the Kyrgyz Republic. (Photo by ADB)

The photo shows an excavating team of archaeologists from the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University and the State Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic. (Photo by ADB)

The ESF identifies six types of cultural heritage that should be considered and screened at the outset of every development project. The presence of different heritage types will determine the management measures needed to avoid and mitigate project impacts to cultural heritage.

Archaeological sites

Archaeological sites are the buried and surface remains of past human settlement and activity. Pottery shards, chipped and ground stone artifacts, metal implements, and other durable materials are the most common archaeological remains.

Archaeological sites are crucial because they offer an objective record that helps us understand human evolution, ancient cultures, and historical patterns. They allow us to learn from past societal successes and failures, which can be applied to modern challenges like climate adaptation and sustainability. Asia and the Pacific boast some of the world's most significant and awe-inspiring archaeological sites offering deep glimpses into early human civilizations, sprawling empires, and architectural marvels.

Archival photo of early 20th-century Archaeological Society of India excavations at Nalanda Mahavihara. World Heritage Site (Photo from UNESCO)

Archaeological investigation at the Issyk Kul Lake site in the Kyrgyz Republic. (Photo by ADB)

Underwater cultural heritage

Underwater cultural heritage includes shipwrecks and other nautical remains dating to the ancient or recent past. Former terrestrial archaeological remains that are now inundated due to changes in water level is another type of underwater cultural heritage. With an estimated 3 million shipwrecks, underwater cultural water heritage provides invaluable insights into human history, ancient trade routes, and past climate shifts that also tell the story of human migration, technological evolution, and cross-cultural exchange. Underwater relics embody the shared memories, triumphs, and tragic histories—including maritime warfare and the history of enslaved people—that connect coastal communities to their heritage.

Downed World War II aircraft (Photo by Francesco Ricciardi/ADB)

Underwater photo of the USS Liberty shipwreck in Bali, Indonesia from World War II. (Photo by stock.adobe.com)

Burials

Burials and human remains are among the most universally sensitive types of cultural heritage, and their specific sensitivities are exceptionally diverse. They may be marked or unmarked, and will vary significantly in their form depending on factors such as cultural affiliation or social status. Human burial of any age should be considered as cultural heritage.

Whether approaching burials and human remains from an archaeological perspective, modern funerary customs, or national and local regulations, the treatment and documentation of the deceased are strictly governed to protect both scientific heritage and human dignity.

Burial practices across Asia and the Pacific vary widely, blending indigenous animism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. While some cultures favor elaborate earth burials, others strictly practice cremation. In the Indonesian province of Bali, there is a unique open-air decomposition practiced by the isolated Bali Aga people in Trunyan where death is viewed not as an end, but as a celebratory transition.

Built Heritage

Built Heritage, among the most common and visible forms of heritage, shapes the identity and feel of a surrounding community. The difference between regular architecture and protected built heritage may not be easy to distinguish. Expertise is needed to confirm whether a building or other structures constitutes built heritage and considered eligible for protection.

Protecting built heritage involves safeguarding historic and culturally significant buildings through adaptive reuse, strict regulations, and community effort. Protecting built heritage in the Pacific, for example, involves integrating customary management laws, community-led conservation, and sustainable adaptation and reflect the inseparable link between Pacific Island landscapes, seascapes, and cultural identity.

Nalanda Mahavihara World Heritage Site in India. (Photo by UNESCO)

Locals converge at Bhaktapur Durbar Square World Heritage Site in Nepal. (Photo by ADB)

Ancient fortress of Narikala, Tbilisi, Georgia. (photo by Emlen Myers/ADB Consultant)

Natural features with cultural significance

Natural features with cultural significance are landscapes that may include hills, mountains, streams, rivers, waterfalls, caves, rocks, plants, trees or groves, and more. Their significance may be localized in small community groups and may not be readily recognizable to those outside the community.

Cultural landscapes also include intangible elements such as land uses and associations of people that influenced the development of a landscape. Cultural landscape preservation seeks to recognize significant landscape features and place-making as ways to understand evolving community and cultural values. People interact with their environment wherever they live, creating cultural values through the use and transformation of their surroundings.

Environmental pressures, invasive species, and negative impacts of tourism are currently the three most significant threats to these landscapes. Forests, coral reefs and glaciers are among some of the most affected ecosystems.

Rock formations in Ha Long Bay Viet Nam are among the natural features and landscapes that constitute cultural heritage. (Photo from stock.adobe.com)

Some culturally important places are marked or have dramatic scenery, while others are unmarked. (Photo by ADB)

Movable cultural heritage

Movable cultural heritage includes historic or rare books and manuscripts, paintings, drawings, sculptures, figurines, and carvings; modern or historic religious items; historic costumes, jewelry, and textiles and more.

These objects may be found in formal or informal museums, libraries, in religious-ceremonial facilities, or may be kept in a household, shrine or other informal locations, serving as physical expressions of a group's or nation's identity. Because these objects are portable, they are often at higher risk of theft, illicit trafficking, or damage due to environmental factors. Proper documentation, controlled storage, and preventive conservation are essential to keep them safe for future generations.

Rolled manuscripts with decorative calligraphy. (Photo from public domain)

Photo shows folios of old manuscripts in the library of Tsuglagkhang Buddhist Monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim, India (Photo from stock.adobe.com)

Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO’s 2003 convention calls attention to intangible cultural heritage as the traditional practices, expressions, knowledge, and skills that the communities recognize as their cultural heritage, and which a society or community chooses to pass on to each new generation. Unlike tangible heritage (monuments or artifacts), intangible heritage is living. It is central to promoting cultural diversity, sustainable development, and resilience in local and Indigenous communities. It thrives only when communities actively practice, protect, and pass it on to succeeding generations.

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage is not simply about retaining or preserving a belief system or practice as it is but protecting a community’s ability to pass that belief or knowledge to future generations in whatever form the community may choose.

Traditional dance presentation in Tarawa, Kiribati (Photo by ADB) is an example of a living cultural heritage that is still in active use by a community today.

A traditional Mongolian horseman shares an ancient, symbiotic bond with their small, durable horses which are essential for survival, transport, and cultural identity. (Photo by ADB)

Cultural heritage is a valued reminder of the past, and a useful guide to the future. Each new generation redefines and transmits cultural heritage and its associated values. Development projects must balance useful innovation and valued traditions as they seek to enhance present conditions. This makes the cultural past and its associated living knowledge indispensable considerations for development.

Footnotes

Banner Photo: Khor Virap is located on the hills of Ararat Plain in Armenia. The Armenian monastery is a well- known pilgrimage site. (Photo by ADB)

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FootNotes

Banner Photo: Khor Virap is located on the hills of Ararat Plain in Armenia. The Armenian monastery is a well- known pilgrimage site. (Photo by ADB)