Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Resources Threatened by Climate Change

Abstract

With a wide spectrum of data, case studies, monitoring, and experimental and numerical simulation techniques, the multidisciplinary approach of material, environmental, and computer science applied to the conservation of cultural heritage offers several opportunities for the heritage science and conservation community to map and monitor the state of the art of the knowledge referring to natural and human-induced climate change impacts on cultural heritage—mainly constituted by the built environment—in Europe and Latin America. The special issue “Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Resources Threatened by Climate Change” of Geosciences—launched to take stock of the existing but still fragmentary knowledge on this challenge, and to enable the community to respond to the implementation of the Paris agreement—includes 10 research articles. These papers exploit a broad range of data derived from preventive conservation monitoring conducted indoors in museums, churches, historical buildings, or outdoors in archeological sites and city centers. Case studies presented in the papers focus on a well-assorted sample of decay phenomena occurring on heritage materials—e.g., surface recession and biomass accumulation on limestone, depositions of pollutant on marble, salt weathering on inorganic building materials, and weathering processes on mortars in many local- to regional-scale study areas in the Scandinavian Peninsula, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, and Panama. Besides monitoring, the methodological approaches that are showcased include, but are not limited to, original material characterization, decay product characterization, and climate and numerical modelling on material components for assessing environmental impact and climate change effects.

Climate Change Challenges to Existing Cultural Heritage Policy

“…Given the effective role of stakeholders in defining cultural heritage value [53] from the territorial point of view, this study also emphasizes the critical role of education and knowledge exchange across a wide range of stakeholders [42], including heritage management, trans disciplinary research, and climate science. This insight facilitates the engagement of the local community in protection of cultural heritage resources [54], and provide an influential base for redefining the cultural heritage concept and climate-resilience policies in the era of climate change. This policies should include new approaches that support multi-scale and multi-sector action rooted in the different expectations of a wide range of partners, expand the scope of community participation and engagement.…”

How Green Possibilities Can Help in a Future Sustainable Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Europe

“…It has been demonstrated that pollution and climate change not only damage human health, but also endanger the conservation of materials, because artistic surfaces also interact with the surrounding environment. Recent studies established a correlation between environmental decay and increasing degradation [17][18][19]. The evaluation of damage due to an aggressive environment and the identification of possible solutions represent a very challenging task, particularly if the proposed solutions are avant-garde, green, and safe.…”

Climate Change and Sustaining Heritage Resources: A Framework for Boosting Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation in Central Italy

“…Climate change inflicts direct damage on the materials and structure of historical monuments [13] and threatens the status of Outstanding Universal Value at many World Heritage Sites [14]. For instance, the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) has suggested that the sea level rise in the Thames Estuary will reach between 0.26 and 0.86m by the year 2080, compared to its average level between 1961 and 1990 [15].…”

“…Finally, equity is a measurement tool for social sensitivity to climate change and pays needed attention to populations most vulnerable to climate change impacts [31]. Some studies also highlight the necessity of developing communication mechanisms among heritage institutions, academic researchers, and the local community to build adaptation capacity at heritage sites [13,32]. Communication is essential for adapting to climate change because it facilitates the engagement of the public in climate change science and solutions in partnership with governments, media organizations, companies, and civil society [33].…”