In 1974, after an appeal from the Pakistani Government, UNESCO launched the International Safeguarding Campaign for Moenjodaro. It lasted until 1997 and mobilized around 8 million US $ from its Member States for large scale conservation measures which aimed at protecting the site from flooding, implementation of national capacity building activities and for the installation of a conservation and monitoring laboratory.
The safeguarding campaign comprised of groundwater control through the installation of tube wells, river training, conservation of structural remains, landscaping and plantation. These activities were conducted by national and international experts with the involvement of the local communities. Thanks to the campaign, an estimated 150 million people around the world, including schoolchildren, were informed about Moenjodaro and the ancient Indus civilization.
Furthermore, an UNDP project for national capacity-building in cultural heritage was implemented with success thanks to funds provided by Japan. The immediate objectives of the UNESCO/Japan-Funds-in-Trust project were to strengthen the Moenjodaro conservation laboratory in terms of equipment and skills and to develop suitable conservation methods for the ancient brick structures. This resulted in the development of scientific conservation methods on the basis of data collected on salts and humidity, such as the protection of the ancient brickwork using mud mortar to form a sacrificial layer in which deterioration can take place.
Pakistan