Sharjah maps the future of Faya with comprehensive heritage protection framework

A coordinated two-year initiative brings together urban planning, conservation expertise and UNESCO standards to preserve one of the world's most significant archaeological landscapes

The careful stewardship of ancient places requires the same precision and foresight that shapes a city’s future. In Sharjah, this principle has taken tangible form through a methodical planning process designed to safeguard the Faya World Heritage Site, an archaeological landscape whose significance stretches back more than 200,000 years.

The Sharjah Archaeology Authority’s World Heritage Office has completed its second major planning workshop, bringing together technical specialists, urban planners and conservation experts to establish the standards that will govern all future development at the site. Building on an intensive initial session held in April, this latest gathering represents the next critical phase in implementing Faya’s comprehensive development framework.

The workshop assembled members of a joint technical committee drawn from the Sharjah Department of Town Planning and Survey and the Sharjah Housing Department, alongside specialists from the SAA’s World Heritage Office. Among the participants was Dr Jad Tabet, a World Heritage expert whose methodology aligns the emerging requirements with UNESCO’s international standards for site protection. Together, this multidisciplinary group reviewed the technical committee’s work to date and refined the remaining actions needed to embed heritage protection within all future planning decisions.

The focus of these discussions centred on verifying the buffer zone boundaries surrounding the site and reviewing the requirements set out in Faya’s management plan. As we have reported in our coverage of Sharjah’s broader commitment to heritage, the emirate has been strengthening its approach to archaeological stewardship through initiatives such as the Faya Emirati Fellowship, which deepens expertise among specialists in Stone Age heritage research and conservation.

The technical committee, formed earlier this year, works in direct partnership with the World Heritage Office to translate the management plan’s requirements into practice, ensuring that heritage considerations shape urban development rather than following it. By mid-2027, the committee expects to complete implementation of the framework’s adopted outcomes. Subsequent phases will focus on producing detailed maps for the World Heritage Property and creating a digital heritage layer using geographic information systems. This technological approach will enable coordinated site management and support informed development decisions across the landscape.

Faya’s significance as a UNESCO World Heritage Site rests on its standing as an archaeological landscape of international importance, preserving evidence of human habitation in arid environments across millennia. The development framework emerging from these workshops reflects Sharjah’s commitment to preserving not only the site’s Outstanding Universal Value but also its authenticity and integrity, ensuring that this irreplaceable record of human presence endures for future generations.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

This initiative exemplifies the collaborative approach to heritage management that characterises the United Arab Emirates’ broader commitment to cultural stewardship. By embedding archaeological considerations within urban planning frameworks, Sharjah demonstrates how development and preservation can advance together, a principle with implications across the emirates as they balance growth with the protection of cultural and historical assets.

The methodology being developed at Faya, grounded in UNESCO standards and informed by international expertise, establishes practices that strengthen the emirate’s position as a leader in heritage conservation. This work also complements the UAE’s international cultural partnerships, as evidenced by Sharjah’s deepening cooperation with Egypt and other nations in archaeology, museum practice and capacity building, enriching the broader regional dialogue around heritage preservation.

Source: WAM