Case Decision - 193287

Final Decision
The SAHRA Archaeology, Palaeontology and Meteorites (APM) Unit and Burial Grounds and Graves (BGG) Unit has no objection to the proposed development and endorses the recommendations of the specialists found in the HIA, heritage specialist reports and CMP. The following additional conditions must be adhered to:

Identified heritage resources that could not be photographed due to close proximity to sensitive satellite infrastructure must be photographed by film cameras (non-digital) or sketched in order to complete the recording of these sites;
Monitoring activities (Table 6-3 of the CMP): SAHRA recommends that the on-site inspection of very highly sensitive palaeontological, very highly and highly sensitive archaeological areas be conducted at least 30 calendar days prior to earth-moving activities to provide enough time to implement the FFP/CFP should chance finds be encountered. This would also allow enough time for permit application procedures and review, to ensure that construction timeframes are not impacted by downtime/construction stoppage;
The SARAO Site supervisor must familiarise themselves with the potential fossils that may occur within the area as part of the training programme;
The awareness programmes and training material noted in section 7 of the CMP must be submitted to SAHRA for comment. Additionally, in Table 7-1 of the CMP, SAN Parks employees must be included as potential users of the awareness programme;
Recording forms: The section “type of resource" must use the SAHRIS site types taxonomy taking into account the hierarchy of the list for better integration into SAHRIS;
Recording forms: The restrictions section should move to section 4 of the form so it can apply to all categories referred to in the form above. Additionally, the reasons for the restrictions must be provided (conservation, economic, spiritual for the movable and immovable heritage);
Recording forms: Coordinates of resources must be in decimal degrees using the wgs84 datum;
The Chance Finds Protocol document must be amended to include photographs of fossils found in-situ and/or un-prepared, shown in appendix A of the document;
The recommendations provided in the 2016 Dr J Almond Palaeontological report (Case ID 10314) regarding the areas not assessed by Dr M Bamford in this case must be adhered to.

Advice:

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with McGregor Museum in Kimberley should be entered into as the only repository for archaeological and palaeontological material in the Northern Cape. The MoU should outline responsibilities of all parties with regards to the long-term conservation of excavated and collected material from the SKA Project;
It is noted that SAN Parks is in the beginning stages of drafting a Park Management Plan as part of the proposed declaration of the PA as per the NEM:PA. SAHRA must be noted as a key stakeholder to be consulted regarding the management of heritage resources and future plans within the proposed PA;
Should SAN Parks employees working within the proposed PA require SAHRIS training, the SAHRA National Inventory Unit (NIU) will be available to assist depending on budget availability;
The CMP may benefit from the 2016 3D Modelling exercise conducted by the American non-profit CyArk on several corbelled houses in the Northern Cape (http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/cutting-edge-3d-technology-b…);
The oral histories of the previous landowners and farmworkers should be collected to preserve the intangible heritage of the area so that the places of intangible heritage occur do not decrease in cultural significance.