Antiquities as an Economic Development Resource
December 17, 2009
Jerusalem
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| Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Naomi Tsur discussing the need for more sustainable funding sources for the city's archaeological sites. |
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| The Lab's participants, including experts from Israel and abroad. |
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The demand for archaeological artifacts has encouraged a billion-dollar black market and accelerated the destruction of the world's cultural history through looting and vandalism.
Nowhere is this issue more critical than in the Middle East, where demand for artifacts is feverish. To ensure legal archaeological discovery and conservation, the players must be given incentives to change. By shifting the focus from the value of specific objects to overall cultural appreciation, financial tools can increase funding for archaeological development and preservation in the countries of origin.
With that goal in mind, the Milken Institute convened a Financial Innovations Lab in Jerusalem to focus on strategies for leveraging public funds with private capital to finance archaeological preservation and conservation. The ideas were based on a previous Lab held by the Institute in Santa Monica in January 2008. Specific models were examined to not only provide much-needed funding, but also to lessen the impact of the illicit trade of antiquities on the region.
Participants included representatives from Israel's Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Nature and Parks Authority (NPA), the Tourism Ministry, local municipalities, international archaeologists, capital markets experts, finance specialists and representatives from international legislative bodies, including UNESCO.
Cultural heritage is not often understood as an economic resource, and because equating antiquities with commodities is unpopular with archaeologists and governments in countries of origin, there has been little research into structuring sustainable funding sources. As Glenn Yago of the Milken Institute demonstrated, undervalued markets can be transformed once they are organized appropriately. For example, in environmental finance, pricing the value of carbon has revolutionized the approach to climate-change legislation.
There are significant challenges in preserving Israel's archaeological resources and preventing further destruction through illegal looting. Ze'ev Temkin, architect of the popular sites Caesarea and Masada, explained that there is difficulty coordinating the various ministries and local governments, especially when it comes to launching archaeo-tourism.
Other participants noted that the current policies of the Nature and Parks Authority hinder sustainability. Currently, all revenue generated from national parks, whether archaeological sites or environmental sites, is channeled back to the central office of the NPA. The parks that create the most revenue often never see any benefit, because their sales supplement the NPA's small budget to maintain all 66 total national parks and 190 nature reserves.
Raanan Kislev, director of the Site Conservation Administration at the Israel Antiquities Authority, discussed how his team manages site preservation despite a very limited budget. The IAA is given an extremely small allocation from the national budget in comparison to other agencies, and the budget specifically for preservation, as opposed to excavation, is even more limited.
Larry Coben of the Sustainable Preservation Initiative of the Archaeological Institute of America discussed how local communities can benefit from sites through microfinance and small business development. Brent Lane of the University of North Carolina presented a venture capital model, demonstrating how a portfolio of sites could be developed and funded though private investment. Glenn Yago presented the Institute's ideas from the previous Lab held on the topic, including an archaeological development bond and other public-private partnerships.
Participants broke into working groups to review the potential revenue streams and local economic benefit of specific sites. Jaffa, Megiddo and Jerusalem were singled out as needing creative solutions to generate long-term preservation. Top priorities for participants were rethinking the marketing of each sites' historical narrative and understanding how to best digitize each site for mass consumption. All participants agreed that sites must work in coordination with local communities to promote preservation while generating economic development.
A full report is available in English or Hebrew. For more information, contact Caitlin MacLean, manager of Financial Innovations Labs, at cmaclean@milkeninstitute.org.
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