Managing the Impacts of IDB Projects on Cultural Heritage

Date
Nov 2015
The aim of this note is to explain how potential impacts on cultural heritage should be addressed in the context of IDB projects. The note sets out basic steps for the management of cultural heritage sites and objects that may be encountered during implementation of Bank- financed projects. It considers why the protection of cultural heritage is important, what kind of expertise is required to identify and evaluate cultural heritage, and what level of effort is required to ensure that concerns for cultural heritage are effectively integrated into the social, environmental, institutional, and financial analysis of a project. Above all, this note is intended to ensure that concerns about cultural heritage are addressed systematically as an integral part of the Bank's social and environmental impact assessment procedures.