Preserving the Nation’s Cultural Heritage

With most of the nation’s cultural heritage in private ownership, the responsibility of preserving this heritage rests, not with governments, but with society. The importance of cultural heritage has been adequately explained in previous sections and a definition of cultural heritage has also been given. The purpose of this section is to inform holders of cultural heritage how to provide adequate attention to the items in their possession in order to increase the quantity of heritage which is passed onto future generations.

Once an individual has acknowledged the value of an artwork or artefact he/she should make a conscious decision to preserve the item. There is no shortage of information on how items should be preserved. The main problem is where to find the information. The following is intended to make it easier for custodians of cultural heritage to preserve their ‘treasures.’