Mustapha Hafsi, president of the project to develop the old Ksar of Ouargla and a registered architect with the Ministryre de la Culture et des Arts, Mustapha Hafsi, in his paper entitled "Dimension patrimoniale en aménagement urbain du Ksar d'Ouargla", affirmed that this archaeological site, classifiedological site, classified as a national heritage site on March 5, 1996 and listed as a protected area in 2008, is still in need of further multi-sectoral efforts to iron out some of the constraints encountered in terms of development, with a view to preserving the region's cultural heritage.

M. Hafsi referred to some of the external development work carried out on the site, consisting of urban rehabilitation, the installation of public lighting, and the development of the Ksar's surroundings, squares and markets.

Abdelhak Bennour, a university lecturer from the "Chahid Hamma Lakhdar" university in El-Oued, gave a talk entitled "Ways of preserving the ancient site of Sedrata from natural and human hazards".in his talk, entitled "Ways of preserving the ancient site of the town of Sedrata from natural and human hazards", mentioned a number of dangers affecting this archaeological site, notably silting-up, landslides and the effects of bad weather, particularly rainwater.

These threats are compounded by the degradation of the site due to the uncontrolled and illicit dumping of rubbish and rubble, acts of vandalism and the despoiling of surrounding land.

The speaker called for the protection of this heritage, the necessary application of regulatory mechanisms to preserve this archaeological site classified as national heritage, and the organization of awareness-raising campaigns on the preservation of the site.He also called for the organization of awareness-raising campaigns on the preservation and development of the site, including the protection of the site with green belts and the construction of perimeter fences to protect it from acts of sabotage and degradation.

Initiated as part of the celebration of Heritage Month (April 18-May 18), this year's theme was "Cultural heritage and risk management in an era of crises and natural disasters".The event, held at Ouargla's "Mohamed Tidjani" main public reading library, was one of a series of cultural events and activities included in the commemorative program.

These include exhibitions of handicrafts and manuscripts, training workshops on techniques for using local building materials, and a competition for the best project to preserve archaeological sites from natural hazards, according to the organizers.

Source: www.aps.dz