Cite this article
Ouaali, S., Anouche, K. (2024) ‘Preventive conservation – a means of sustainability of cultural heritage: The case of the M’Zab Valley’, Architecture Papers of the Faculty of Architecture and Design STU, 29(3), pp. 2-14. https://www.doi.org/10.2478/alfa-2024-0013
SUMMARY
Tangible and intangible cultural heritage represents a wealth that strengthens the cultural identity of populations. The management of heritage sites is fundamental to their conservation and sustainability; more broadly, the preservation of heritage sites also contributes to the preservation of the environment. Many approaches to the management of heritage sites have been undertaken in recent years, approaches which are different from one case to another in different countries. Although current research has provided many methods for preserving heritage sites, they remain specific to a particular context.
In the Saharan landscape of Algeria, the M’Zab Valley in Ghardaïa, Algeria, is a cradle of a millennial Ksourian civilisation and also currently serves as a reference thanks to its ingenious urban system for controlling the territorial structuring and for architectural knowledge. These characteristics earned it its classification as a national heritage site in 1971 and a world heritage by UNESCO in 1982. This urban ensemble has managed to maintain its specificity over the past ten centuries, despite demographic growth and the emergence of new domestic needs, and continues to be a mark of Mozabite culture in the heart of the desert. Management operations were necessary for the continuity of this architectural and cultural wealth. Thus, the main question of this study is what are the management actions adopted in the M’Zab Valley with regard the Ksourian architectural heritage for its sustainability? This article supports the hypothesis that the combination of the efforts of local public authorities and local community has favoured the survival of heritage by preserving it and ensuring its transfer to future generations by integrating it into contemporary life.
A field survey was conducted in the historical ksour of the M’Zab Valley and in the administrative localities. We chose a qualitative and inductive method given the exploratory nature of this research, it allows a deep contextual understanding of the information by studying the documents, then analysing them and finally interpreting how the participants build and attach meaning to their experience. This study is based on a combination of several investigative tools: semi-structured face-to-face interviews with different actors and organisations responsible for the management of the valley, observations and photographs on site. We explore and detail the management actions, which consist of: implementation of the permanent plan for the safeguarding and enhancement of the safeguarded sector of the M’Zab Valley; launch of rehabilitation operations for the historic ksour of the M’Zab Valley; major actions implemented by the Office of Protection and Promotion of the Valley of M’Zab; active community engagement through the community movement; the construction of the new ksour.
The article aims at understanding the efforts undertaken by public authorities and the local community regarding the establishment of cultural heritage management measures in a particular context. This study can provide a reference of a conservation application method for sustainability of local architectural heritage sites, especially for traditional cities in developing countries.
The results of this research reveal that the preventive heritage conservation approach used in the M’Zab Valley is based on non-destructive methods to the heritage values of the places. According to the implementation of the permanent plan for the safeguarding and development of the protected area of the M’Zab Valley, it is essential to take into account not only monuments, sites and historic buildings. All the contexts associated with the daily life of men, in particular the urban landscape, the extramural environment of the ksour, the palm groves, the oases, the natural airs, the outer territory of the protected sector must also be considered. This represents one of the contemporary principles of cultural heritage conservation.
The operation of housing rehabilitation in the ksour of M’Zab prevents the weakening of traditions and ancestral values and works to preserve the urbanistic and architectural character of the region. The collaborative work between the housing directorate of the wilaya of Ghardaïa, design offices, the Office for the Protection and Promotion of the Valley of M’Zab, the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the municipalities, and the wilaya of Ghardaïa contributed to the realisation of the works in an efficient way. To date, several houses have been completed respecting the architectural and aesthetic character of the region.
The research encourages that it is necessary to involve the Office of Protection and Promotion of the Valley of M’Zab in all interventions in the preserved sector as a guarantor of the local and artisanal architectural and urban heritage, under the supervision of the Algerian Ministry of Culture. The combination of efforts undertaken with their engagement is a major element in the good management of the safeguarded sector.
Finally, the revitalisation of the community and the involvement of the associative movement in the M’Zab Valley fight against the threats of destruction of the material heritage, intangible, natural and cultural, and facilitate the activities of public institutions in the application of heritage law. In addition, the work of specialised and neighbourhood associations contributed to the creation of the new ksour. These projects are the only ways to stop the anthropogenic degradation of palm groves and to transfer local knowledge while reconciling tradition and modernity.
All these actions not only promote the sustainability of heritage by preserving it but also ensure its transfer to future generations. At the same time, one of the world’s cultural heritage sites is conserved according to its local situation, which preserves cultural diversity and increases social stability.