CULTURAL NEWS

Ahaggar cultural park listing in progress

ALGIERS-Minister of Culture and Arts Malika Bendouda on Thursday announced that the listing process of the Ahaggar cultural park in Tamanrasset in the Universal Intangible Heritage was in progress.

In response to a question from MP Ahmed Taleb Benabdallah (Youth Party-PJ) about the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage of the Ahaggar Park, the second largest cultural park in Algeria in terms of surface area, the minister said that her department had launched several projects to enhance and protect the diversity of nature and wildlife.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had agreed in September to include the network of cultural parks, including Ahaggar in the universal heritage, she said.

As for the endowment of the control officers of archaeological sites with technical means, the minister said that the Ahaggar Park was secure as the amendment of the heritage project 98-04 enhanced protection and strengthened sanctions relating to heritage.

The development of the archaeological site of Tagmart will start next January after completion of its study. A management plan for the Ahaggar Park has been developed in coordination with international experts under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the minister.

Instructions have been given to open an office of the National Center for Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Research (CNRPAH) Tamanrasset, announced Bendouda.

The minister also recalled the agreement recently signed with the Algerian Space Agency (ASAL) on monitoring and preserving cultural heritage in the region.