Disasters and Cultural Heritage: planning for prevention, emergency management and risk reduction

Abstract

The need to investigate the topic of risk management of cultural heritage and to work on the regulatory framework relating to its protection and enhancement become even more urgent in light of the recent seismic events that hit the Italian territory. The current emergency planning methods against natural or human-induced hazards have proven to be deficient. Reflecting on the way we normally conceive the cultural assets, the question is not only how to protect our heritage, but how to shift our perception to conceive it as a positive asset, and not only a responsibility. Cultural heritage is not only a document of the identity of a community and a territory, but it can also be the keystone for reconstruction and building resilience to disasters. Starting from this awareness, this paper introduces a methodology for the analysis heritage sites aiming at proposing risk reduction strategies that consider the participatory dialogue between different professional figures. The approach is based on the consolidated methodological framework identified by UNESCO, ICCROM and ICOMOS. The study entails a preliminary evaluation of the most hazardous events, threats and risks that can impact on the heritage values. By considering a worst-case scenario, the procedure allows for modelling and stressing the post-event resilience of the site or cultural asset under consideration. The results of the investigation highlight the potential of this procedure in practical terms. In fact, its adaptability to different scales and contexts responds to the common need of a rapid, integrated methodology for risk assessment. Finally, the paper discusses the current prevention policies involving cultural heritage, focusing on the need to balance conservation and active protection issues to those of safety.

Cultural Heritage Protection from Disaster Impacts: A Review of Global Disaster Risk Reduction Frameworks

“…As a result of the knowledge gap between these two fields, it is considered that the increasing number of heritage sites being abandoned and the damages constituted by the disaster caused by the deficient disaster risk management strategy for these particular assets [9] [16]. Ironically, disaster risk management and heritage conservation have long been considered separate fields of competence, given that they have a common goal of minimizing threats to protected assets [25,26].…”

Updating Preservation Policy in Facing New Potential Disasters in Indonesia

“…How many collections are outsourced, what types of collections are prioritized, the forms of services that can be carried out, how to handle print collections contaminated with the covid-19 virus, requires a preservation policy in its implementation. Paoli (Paoli & Miceli, 2020) states that there is a need for an up-to-date preservation policy that addresses not only the importance of collection conservation, butalso active preservation that focuses on the aspect of saving collections from disasters. This is in line with Verchick (Verchick, 2010) who said that policies on disaster planning need to be updated in response and preparation for disasters.…”