Developing a model for building resilience to climate risks for cultural heritage

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for developing climate adaptation strategies to reduce climate risk for cultural heritage. Cultural heritage has an important role in human well-being. This paper posits that cultural heritage requires an approach that recognises the uniqueness of cultural heritage. The paper draws from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Making My City Resilient campaign and the Heart of the City Partnership in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and proposes a Cultural Heritage Adaptation Forum. The role of the forum is to develop adaptation strategies in a sustainable development context. This is an original attempt to link cultural heritage to climate risk. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from two initiatives and uses good practice established from the disaster management and climate communities and proposes a Cultural Heritage Adaptation Forum that can be used to formulate adaptation interventions for cultural heritage. The approach builds on active participation in a global overview of cultural heritage and climate risk led by UNISDR together with personal experience of implementing such strategies in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Findings – The paper finds that a model can be developed that incorporates good practice from the climate and disaster management communities. Practical implications – The paper presents a model that can be used by those stakeholders that have an interest in protecting cultural heritage form climate driven hazards. Social implications – Cultural heritage has a value for all and protecting it from climate driven hazards can impact human well-being Originality/value – The paper brings together concepts from different academic and practitioner communities. The concept outlined in the paper will be of interest to all those interested in protecting cultural heritage for climate driven hazards.

Archival adaptation to climate change

“…Other cultural heritage sectors that focus on the built and natural environment have made far more progress on climate-change adaptation, particularly its effects on buildings and monuments, archaeological sites, and historical landscapes (Holtz et al 2014;O'Brien et al 2015). This is understandable, as the holdings of libraries, archives, and museums are less geographically bound and can be migrated to safer locations.…”

“…To the extent that risks to archival holdings have been considered, it has primarily been through the lens of disaster planning and management, which emphasizes emergency response, but does not address long-term adaptation for repositories in geographically vulnerable areas (Gordon-Clark & Shurville, 2010). However, a significant body of literature has examined the effects of climate change on long-term viability of other areas of cultural heritage, such as monuments and architecture (Holtz et al 2014;UCS, 2014;O'Brien et al 2015). This work has significant value for archivists who are only beginning to consider similar questions.…”

Securing the Future of Cultural Heritage by Identifying Barriers to and Strategizing Solutions for Preservation under Changing Climate Conditions

“…Further, research on the climate change impacts on cultural resources is limited [39,47]; when coupled with climate change uncertainty, this knowledge insufficiency may hinder adaptation or preservation, e.g., [24,41].…”

“…To design and implement transparent, acceptable and successful climate adaptation strategies, multi-level decision-making process is needed. This process can create collective action across multiple levels of government, non-governmental organizations, other public and private entities, and local communities [21][22][23][24]. Additionally, multi-level decision-making can enhance a better understanding of the different values, priorities, and risk perceptions, as well as support social learning and co-production of knowledge [9,23,24].…”

Monitoring Climate Change in World Heritage Properties: Evaluating Landscape-Based Approach in the State of Conservation System

“…To sustain landscape processes and associated heritage values long-term, landscape resilience (the capacity to absorb and recover from impacts) represents a vital aspect of climate change decisionmaking processes [1,3]. The key elements in building heritage resilience include social/adaptive learning and the monitoring of changes [73,74]. Monitoring is a valuable tool for generating data and knowledge that can serve as a basis for informed decision making in managing WH properties within a changing climate environment [68,75].…”