Community Development and Preservation of Heritage Resources in Igbo Area of Nigeria (Review Completed - Accepted)
Many heritage sites abound in the shores of Nigeria with enormous tourism potentials. Heritage sites do not only depict the cultural and historical transmutation of a people but also functions in the image design and promotion of a locality. This reveals the unique role of heritage sites to structural development of an area. Heritage sites have of recent been a victim of degradation and social abuse arising from seasonal ignorance; hence minimizing its potentials to the socio-economic development of an area. Previous studies have worked on sustaining and preserving heritage sites both for posterity, culture and identity promotion, and tourism through various means including legislations, policies, architectural design, etc. This paper is emphasizing on the adoption of community development approaches in heritage preservation in Igbo area. Its modalities, applications, challenges and prospect were discussed. Such understanding will serve as a catalyst in aiding general restoration and preservation of heritage sites in Nigeria and other African states.
Keywords: Approaches, Community development, Heritage Resources, Preservation, Sustainable Development