Second cultural heritage assessment

By Bufete Mejía & Asociados

Joint Task Force-Bravo and the Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command of the United States partnered with the Honduran Army’s 120th Infantry Brigade and the Institute of Anthropology and History to assess cultural heritage sites impacted by hurricanes Eta and Iota in Copan, Honduras, March 7-11.

This is the second iteration of this one-of-a-kind exchange in Honduras, with the first one conducted last year in Olancho, to provide basic methodologies, tools, and strategies on how to identify and document items or impacts within sites of cultural value.

“The idea is to exchange information and knowledge on how to better protect cultural heritage to establish better relationships between our respective governments and militaries. This is a very unique area and what is interesting is how heritage allows us to discuss security in a much larger context,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Delacruz, Army Monuments Officer with the USACAPOC, based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The exercise was coordinated by JTF-Bravo engineers, under the U.S. Southern Command, with the purpose of assisting regional partners in post-disaster capabilities.

The week included a two-day classroom exchange in Santa Rosa de Copan, where experts presented background information and demonstrated what had to be done in the field, including a form for collecting information and tools to assess damages.

Participants later spent three days on the field and visited Copan Ruinas, identified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, for context on what to look out for and what they could help protect and accomplish by assisting the Institute of Anthropology.

The teams also began the site assessment portion in impacted areas of the park that is surrounded by the Copan River, which caused floods and erosion around the location and some of the temples.

With a personal connection to the location, and as the personnel who guard this region as part of their military duties, the Honduran soldiers were personally invested in learning from the Army Monuments Officers to better prepare for future disasters where they may be called upon to safeguard, transport and store items that are part of their own tangible and intangible heritage.