A/77/290 to continue to enjoy their cultural rights and religious ceremonies and also to continue to have access to ancestral shrines or even medicinal flora. 87 67. Development projects also destroy cultural heritage. In the joint communication TUR 13/2018, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern that the hydroelectrical project on the Tigris River in Türkiye will submerge the Neolithic heritage city of Hasankeyf and displace its population. While noting the response from Türkiye that the project is a regional sustainable development pr oject aimed at bringing prosperity and economic development to the region, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that the project does not correspond to sustainable development. 68. One Ocean Hub observed how the South African, Namibian and Ghanaian Governments’ project to develop an ocean economy (blue economy) has marginalized indigenous peoples and small-scale fishers. The low regard for knowledge pluralism, including of small-scale fishers, and the historical stereotyping of indigenous peoples hindered their potential contribution to sustainable economic development, in particular their potential contribution through a holistic and integrated environmental ethos. Hub researchers have witnessed how marine space and resources have been appropriated with little or no consultation with local communities and indigenous peoples. 88 69. In certain regions of China, the uniform development programmes aimed at poverty alleviation are said to have seriously threatened the health and sustainability of local cultures, communities and their environment despite temporary economic gains. 89 B. Tensions between cultural rights and nature conservation 70. One area where sustainable development commonly threatens cultural rights is nature conservation, in particular the creation and management of protected areas. Protected areas are seen as essential tools in achieving many of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals concerning conservation, biodiversity loss and forest management. They are largely viewed as public goods and sustainable solutions to the biodiversity crisis, as well as key climate change mitigators. However, according to a report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the rights of indigenous peoples, they have often been created in the territories of indigenous peoples or other land-dependent communities without any consultation, compensation or consent (A/71/229). This has had deleterious effects on the cultural rights of these groups, who are removed from their lands and often violently prevented from returning. 71. This mode of nature conservation – commonly called “fortress conservation” – necessarily entails significant religious and cultural loss for land -dependent communities, whose cultural and spiritual identities are often inextricably intertwined with their lands, territories and resources. 90 Indigenous resistance to the establishment of protected areas is often rooted in the desire to safeguard both their land s and their cultural identity, two aspects that are essential to their survival as peoples. 72. Protected areas are key sources of tourism revenue, one of the target areas associated with Sustainable Development Goal 8 on promoting sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. For many countries, protected areas are a vital part of the economy. As an example, 237 million people visited national parks __________________ 87 88 89 90 18/24 Contribution of Kenya National Human Rights Commission, p. 3. Contribution of One Ocean Hub, pp. 3–5. Contribution of the International Campaign for Tibet, p. 1. Jeremie Gilbert and Kanyinke Sena, “Litigating indigenous peoples’ cultural rights: comparative analysis of Kenya and Uganda”, African Studies, vol.77, No. 2 (2018), p. 204. 22-12659