Dealing with multiple hazards and threats on cultural heritage sites: an assessment of 80 case studies

Abstract

Purpose Cultural heritage (CH) sites are not only important components of a country’s identity but can also be important drivers of tourism. However, an increasing number of extreme events associated with the impacts of climate change, natural hazards and human-induced threats are posing significant problems in conserving and managing CH worldwide. Consequently, improved climate change adaptation and enhanced hazard/threat mitigation strategies have become critical (but to-date under-researched) considerations. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key hazards and threats to CH sites, the most common types of risks to CH and the strategies being adopted to mitigate or even eradicate those risks. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews 80 CH case studies from around the world, which have been presented at a UNESCO International Training Course between 2006 and 2016. The case studies cover 45 different countries and provide practical insights into the key challenges being encountered in a variety of “at risk” locations. Findings The analysis assesses the key natural hazards and human-induced threats to the sites, an overview of the typical impacts to the tangible components of heritage and identifies the types of strategies being adopted to mitigate the risks, some of which could be transferred across cultural and geographical contexts. Originality/value The paper provides a wealth of useful information related to how challenges faced by CH sites might be addressed in the future.

Adapting cultural heritage to climate change impacts in the Netherlands: barriers, interdependencies, and strategies for overcoming them

“…Mainstreaming could also serve as a way to encourage co-learning and sharing best practices among multi-level actors and diverse stakeholders (Runhaar et al 2018), which can support overcoming some institutional barriers. In doing so, we encourage policymakers to ensure multi-disciplinary and collaborative approaches to increase transparency and equity in site-specific adaptation efforts (Bosher et al 2019;Brabec and Chilton 2015;Douglas-Jones et al 2016;ICOMOS 2019;Minguez Garcia 2019;Phillips 2014).…”

“…These socio-cultural barriers influence decisions about which cultural heritage to preserve for future generations, or which adaptation measure is considered as acceptable (Fatorić and Seekamp 2017b;Henderson and Seekamp 2018;Sherren et al 2016;Xiao et al 2019). Lack of stakeholders' motivation and willingness to act (Sesana et al 2018), and little appreciation of heritage (Bosher et al 2019) also constrain cultural heritage adaptation.…”

“…Although some cultural heritage such as historic landscapes, structures, and buildings were designed to cope with the flood-related hazards in the Netherlands (RCE 2018; Van Alphen 2020), the magnitude of projected changes and cascading risks will challenge the effectiveness of these adaptation measures in the future. This is not unique to the Netherlands; climate change already challenges cultural heritage management globally by accelerating the deterioration and loss of diverse cultural heritage types (Bosher et al 2019;Hollesen et al 2018;Rockman et al 2016). Increasing resilience of cultural heritage to climate change requires proactive climate adaptation which can reduce deterioration and potential loss (Chmutina et al 2016;Ghahramani et al 2020;Sesana et al 2018), while maximising heritage benefits for current and future generations (ICOMOS 2019).…”

Resilience against crises: COVID-19 and lessons from natural disasters

“…This allows the development of people's capacity in humanitarian operations (Goldschmidt & Kumar, 2016). This move is important because crises affect people and impair their practices (Bosher et al, 2019). Access to physical infrastructure is affected.…”

Disaster Risks of the Seven Filipino-Spanish Churches of the Diocese of Maasin, Philippines | Disaster Risks ng Pitong Pilipino-Espanyol na Simbahan ng Diyosesis ng Maasin sa Pilipinas

“…This paper was able to identify a handful of recent and relevant international studies on heritage structures and disaster risks. Bosher et al' (Bosher et al 2019). This identified earthquake, flood, fire, storm, and landslide as the top five hazards to heritage structures (Bosher et al 2019).…”