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“EXCELLENCE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE” P A G E 23 Inventory of Heritage Structures in Jamaica: A Pilot Study David Harrison Faculty of the Built Environment The preservation of Heritage is a legal requirement in many of the territories of the Greater Caribbean Region, with the Dominican Republic becoming the first Caribbean government to start a National Inventory of Heritage Structures in 1918. In 1972, the International Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted at the fifth session of the UNESCO General Conference. By January, 1994, the majority of the Greater Caribbean Region were “State parties to the Convention”. The Convention defines Cultural and Natural Heritage and mandates each state to identify the properties in its territories. By 1994, 36 of the 411 designated “World Heritage” properties then identified were within the Greater Caribbean Region. At present, Jamaica has no designated properties but has begun the process of submitting Spanish Town for consideration. The same process is due for Port Royal and New Seville. Significant progress in the identification and preservation of the cultural and historic patrimony of the Greater Caribbean dates to the early 1980’s with the work of CARIMOS (Sites and Monuments of the Caribbean) based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and PI:C (Preservation Institute: Caribbean), locatedat theSchool of Architecture, Universityof Florida, Gainsville. Bothorganizations have been assisted by the OAS (Organisation of American States). In Jamaica, preservation work is carried out by both Government and non-Government agencies. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) was created as an agency of the Government. Its mandate includes the declaration and protection of properties and sites of natural, historical archeological and architectural significance. The main Non-Government organizations involved in preservation are the Jamaica Historical Society, the Georgian Society of Jamaica, the Archaeological Society of Jamaica and JalCOMOS (The Jamaica National Committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites). In 1994, the research division of the Caribbean School of Architecture (CSA) and the University of Technology, Jamaica, was contracted by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust to develop and test a methodology for carrying out an Inventory of Heritage Structures throughout the island. This project was funded by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica. Editor’s Note: The full results of this Pilot Study were published in the Journal of Arts, Science & Technology, Volume 1, 1998.