The management and conservation of rock art sites and paintings in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park (UDP) is a World Heritage Site known for its cultural San heritage and its natural beauty, which is advertised as a world tourist attraction. Tourism is a debatable issue with regards to its negative and/or positive impacts on rock art along with commodification aspects. Negatively, visitation of sites increased natural deterioration of the site, the art and challenges for cultural resource management. While increased awareness of rock art conservation is a positive aspect through tourism and developments, contributes optimistically. San heritage is unique, defining our cultural identity and has the power to encourage national unification. The aim of this project is to assess the complexities of tourism developments and its immediate impacts at different rock art sites in the UDP through an analysis of management and conservation methods. The monitoring of these mentioned methods applied is important as it evaluates the effectiveness of past techniques and provides suggestions for other rock art sites. The current conditions at nine study sites in the UDP were investigated under three main criteria; deterioration of the sites and paintings through natural and human impacts, tourism developments and management. Data collection followed principles such as; site mapping, narrative recording, graphic documentation, and is represented in evaluation tables. Results concluded that common management methods were implemented at sites to provide standard conservation practices, but every site had room for improvement. The results have led to the formulation of recommendations that can be applied at other rock art sites and can contribute to future management and conservation protocols. The study highlights the unique demands made on rock art sites by tourism and concludes with final comments and recommendations.