Legal and Illegal export of cultural heritage artefacts from developing countries: protection of cultural heritage in South Africa

Cultural heritage is an important part of the capital of developing countries that can be leveraged for sustainable development. However, it also needs protection as the rise in the illegal trade of cultural artefacts shows. South Africa as an example of a middle-income African country that seeks to promote cultural heritage for development. As part of the attempt to preserve cultural capital, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is tasked with the protection of cultural heritage that is of special cultural, historical, aesthetic or technical importance to the country, and is thus part of the “national estate”. SAHRA adjudicates applications for the permanent export of cultural artefacts, guided by national policy that defines the attributes of artefacts of national importance. There are also attempts to bypass SAHRA adjudication through illegal smuggling of important art and artefacts, which SAHRA also tracks through a database of artefacts reported stolen. This study analyses the way that SAHRA has applied the policy to make decisions about permanent export applications of cultural heritage artefacts, as well as the attributes of those artefacts reported stolen and thus lost to the national estate. Results showed that the SAHRA permit system seems to be providing effective protection for some of South Africa’s cultural heritage, but only 4% of applications were for art and artefacts representing black African cultures