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Petra in peril - experts warn

PETRA - This week, the Petra Region Tourism Authority (PRTA), a new body to manage the ancient city, will embark on its mission.

With the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) director appointed as a commissioner, and the other four commissioners appointed by the prime minister, the new streamlined structure is envisioned to function as an independent authority to govern the site.

As the new authority assesses the situation, however, tourism officials and conservationists alike agree it will find there are many challenges and few easy answers in the rose-red city.

Management

Over the past four decades, Petra has been governed by several agreements and strategies, which, due to lack of funding or initiative, have never been implemented in full, officials said.

The archaeological site has been the focus of the 1968 US National Parks Master Plan for the protection and use of Petra National Park, the UNESCO Petra National Park Management Plan of 1994, US-ICOMOS management analysis and recommendations for the Petra World Heritage Site in 1996 and most recently, the US National Park Service PAP operating plan for 2000.

The result has been scattered efforts and overlapping jurisdictions, officials say, as well-intentioned measures were never seen through, leaving the site fully exposed to the negative consequences of increased tourism.

"A lot has been done for Petra, and we need to review all the information before putting a new vision forward," Tourism and Antiquities Minister Maha Khatib told The Jordan Times.

"While the previous management plans served as guiding principles, in reality they have not been adopted and the site to this date has suffered greatly," Petra National Trust (PNT) Executive Director Aysar Akrawi said.

Prior to the PRTA, authorities lacked a unified policy or clear regulations regarding the hosting of events, filming, marathons, visitor conduct, treatment of animals or even natural disasters.

Without regulations in place and funds to support conservation efforts, park officials and conservationists said they have been nearly powerless to protect the site and its integrity.

"We have many problems in Petra," PAP Director Emad Hijazeen told The Jordan Times.

"This area is known for flooding. Do we even have an emergency plan if there were floods? This is something we have to address," Hijazeen stressed.

Under the new authority, he said he hopes to pass regulations, to enforce them in the area and to curb practices which may lead to the deterioration of the site.

Overcapacity

Over the last 15 years, the rock-carved city has seen several management bodies come and go: the Petra Region Planning Council in 1995, followed by the Petra Regional Council, the Petra Regional Authority and as of this week, the PRTA.

According to official statistics, during this time, the annual number of visitors jumped from 200,500 in 1994 to over 800,000 last year, with the New Seven World Wonders contest placing the city atop international tour itineraries.

As a result, Petra often exceeds its UNESCO-recommended daily capacity of 2,000 visitors, sometimes witnessing consecutive days of 4,000-plus tourists, according to PNT statistics.

"We need to find a way to protect the site, and avoid having peak tourist times. It is harming the archaeological sites and monuments," Department of Antiquities Director Fawwaz Khraysheh told The Jordan Times in a previous interview.

The surges are often due to one-day tourists who come overland from Israel or off cruise ships docked in Aqaba and visit the rose red city for a few hours before leaving the Kingdom, spending little time and money in Jordan and leaving little behind to benefit the country, according to the PAP.

"We have a real problem with the cruise ships, and we need to ensure there is an acceptable daily limit," Khatib noted.

Khatib said the ministry is working to enact an e-ticketing system, to allow travellers and potential visitors to purchase their ticket online and place a limit on how many pass through the storied Siq.

Hijazeen said he wishes to establish a system that favours tourists spending multiple days in the Kingdom and those having extended stays in Petra.

Shuttle service

All stakeholders agree that in order to preserve the site for the 21st century, even the path into Petra will have to be revisited.

Currently, thousands of visitors each day come through the Siq, the narrow, winding 700-metre gorge that leads into the ancient city, and return the same way, creating sometimes overwhelming two-way traffic. In addition, dozens of carriages barrel down the crevasse, forcing tour groups to crowd along the edges.

To alleviate stress, authorities are pressing for the PRTA to consider an alternative exit. Under the new exit plan, visitors would leave via a shuttle service from the northeast edge of the park, by Qasr Al Bint, along Wadi Turkmeniyya road through the village of Um Sayhoun and then back to the visitor's centre in Wadi Musa.

"It is something long overdue. It's a nightmare bringing tourists who are already exhausted back through the Siq," a tour guide said.

However, if exhaust fumes blacken the site, park officials "will never be able to clean" the delicate sandstone without damaging it, Hijazeen noted.

"We don't want to solve a problem by creating a catastrophe," he said.

"Diesel has a very negative impact on wildlife and the monuments themselves. Any vehicles will have an irreversible impact on the site," Akrawi said.

Wadi Turkmeniyya is also a flood path, and according to geologists, any alteration to the road could affect the flow of seasonal rains, and may redirect water into the stone-carved temples and monuments below.

Khatib pledged that as the path from Qasr Al Bint to Wadi Turkmeniyya is "far from archaeological sites", any exhaust produced by the vehicles will not harm the fragile sandstone carvings, stressing that environmental considerations will be taken into account.

However, the Wadi Turkmeniyya road passes through several lesser-seen monuments which may be affected by a shuttle service, the PNT warned.

"We need an alternative exit and we are currently carrying out environmental assessments for a shuttle service," Khatib said, stressing that the proposal is "in its early stages".

Communities left behind

The Bdoul tribe, the original bedouin inhabitants of Petra, were transferred in 1985 to the now poverty-stricken village of Um Sayhoum.

With demographic growth and lack of jobs, members of the Bdoul have started to migrate back towards Petra, according to officials, with some 15 families setting up tents close to Jabal Haroun.

Despite playing a key role in tourism services, some are damaging ancient Nabataean caves, and many rely on donkeys and horses as their only source of income.

Conservationists and park officials say the animals have decimated the original carved steps leading up to the monastery and the high place of sacrifice, while excrement has harmed the fragile sandstone.

According to PNT estimates, if the trade is not regulated, there may be up to 500 donkeys in the Nabataean city, placing a huge strain on the fragile ecosystem and rock-carved monuments.

The PNT and PAP insist that the animals are reserved for the elderly and infirm and must travel on designated paths.

Um Sayhoun resident Mohammad Ali, 32, has relied on his donkey service to provide for his five children for several years. Ali said he pays some JD150 in animal feed each month, approximately the minimum wage in Jordan.

"Donkeys have been part of Petra for hundreds of years, only now they are causing a problem?" he remarked.

Horse owner Ahmed Nassarat stressed that as many of the guides and horse drivers were taken out of school at a young age to continue their fathers' work, many of them now are illiterate and lack the basic tools to compete in any job market.

"Petra took my education from me. If you take away Petra, what have I left?" Nassarat asked.

He along with Ahmed M., another horse owner, said they pay around JD75 per animal each month in food and although during the high seasons of spring and fall their operations can bring in JD1,000 a month, during the rest of the year they suffer losses, earning only around JD200 a month.

They said they are loyal to their craft, noting that during the years following the Iraq invasion, residents provided for and fed their animals while sustaining daily losses.

"We have no intention of taking the animals out of the park, but we want the local community to make it a more organised practice," Khatib stressed, underlining the ministry's commitment to engaging the local community in the tourism sector.

However, animal owners fear that the new exit plan would dramatically decrease their earnings, stressing that they rely on carrying tired visitors drained from a day of walking through the Nabataean city back through the Siq to the visitor's centre.

Some locals proposed placing donkeys and horses along the Turkmeniyya route to take visitors from the exit of the Nabataean city to Um Sayhoun, rather than a shuttle service. Other horse owners said residents should form a cooperative to run the buses, to ensure revenues trickle down to the local community, while paying a fee to the PRTA.

No matter the future of the alternative exit plan, area residents insist that without the craft, hundreds of families would be devastated.

"If this shuttle service happens, I will not be able to feed my children," Ali said.

Preservation and site integrity

Various stands and stalls in the rose-red city also pose a threat, according to officials. Unlicensed vendors, mainly women and children, break off pieces of rock and other artefacts from the site to sell to passing tourists, promoting a cycle of child labour.

"There is a proliferation of shops, kiosks and ranger posts to the point where they threaten the site's presentation and integrity," Akrawi said, stressing that only a handful of shops selling essential items, such as water, sunscreen and hats, should be allowed within the site, with all other stores placed in the border area.

Meanwhile, international commitments to the World Bank allow the Kingdom to open only 25 per cent of the buffer zone surrounding the site to light tourism development: one-storey structures that do not cause visual pollution or encroach on the site. Yet this zone is beginning to see modern tourist projects.

"Building development is encroaching on the site and it only stands to increase," Akrawi warned.

As with all World Heritage Sites, UNESCO has the power to place Petra on its danger list, and even revoke world heritage status if developments are not curbed and practices it warned against in its 1994 plan remain unchecked.

With 10 per cent of entrance fees slated for the preservation and conservation of the site, potentially the largest amount of annual funds in its history, many said they believe the PRTA should be up to be the tall task.

"The whole Kingdom has expectations for the Petra Region Tourism Authority and we have high hopes that Petra will be put in a better situation," Khatib said.

If the stakeholders in the new authority do not come to full agreement on the best ways of moving forward, however, experts say Petra will pay the ultimate price.

"Without a plan in place, at the end of the day we will lose the site," Hijazeen said.

By Taylor Luck

© Jordan Times 2009