Herewith the URL for the Heritage Chapter to which Nicholas Clarke and I were contributing authors (click here to view) which is part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment for Shale Gas Development prepared by the CSIR for Cabinet policy development (click here to view).

Our brief was to alert cabinet as to the current state of knowledge within the heritage sector of South Africa as to what processes would be triggered in any circumstances, whether there be no development, exploration, partial or full-scale exploitation of gas as resource through fracking in the Karoo.

Please let us have any thoughts or comments this may elicit or questions it may raise. It is the first time - to the best of our knowledge - such an exercise has been undertaken and, although it has been subject to peer review as well as input through public participation of interested and affected parties, we wish to critically revisit the process for academic reflection and refinement so that it becomes the benchmark for Heritage considerations in any Strategic Environmental Assessment for any type of activity.

My own question is whether the two chapters that precede it namely Chapter 13: Impacts on Sense of Place Values and Chapter 14: Visual, Aesthetic and Scenic Resources should be separate or integral, or more weighted in respect of heritage as a consideration, particularly as regards cultural landscapes?

Feel free to share with anyone who my be interested.

Roger Fisher - rogercfisher@gmail.com

Note: The chapter is published in its final form and so feedback is requested for future considerations.