Climate Change Challenges to Existing Cultural Heritage Policy

Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi,Ilenia Pierantoni,Massimo Sargolini

doi:10.3390/su11195227

Abstract

Climate change affects, directly and indirectly, the tangible and intangible features of heritage sites. Conservation studies often examine the impacts of climate change on heritage sites by assuming it as an isolated and static concept. This study aims to debate cultural heritage concept as the primary and neglected factor for wise development of climate-resilience policies. We first adopt the qualitative Meta-synthesis method to analyze the impacts of climate change on world heritage sites, through a systematic review of reports published by the UNESCO and its advisory bodies. Then, it is explained why the sustainability of cultural heritage requires a fundamental reconsideration of the concept and promotion of its evaluation framework. The findings suggest that protection of cultural heritage and developing the climate-resilience policies for the sustainability of landscape requires at the early stages a reflection on how heritage is defined as a useful resource and acceptable characteristic of territory.

Highlights

Nowadays, there is an increasing concern over climate change effects, and there is irrefutable evidence that suggests that humans might be directly responsible for the emergence of this phenomenon [1]
From the urban and regional planning point of view, most conservation studies consider the concept of cultural heritage as a static object [15], and have usually defined it based on the principles of the World Heritage Convention which adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1972 [16]
The collected responses reveal that climate change had an impact on 72% of the natural and cultural heritage sites in the sampled countries

Summary

Introduction

There is an increasing concern over climate change effects, and there is irrefutable evidence that suggests that humans might be directly responsible for the emergence of this phenomenon [1]. The impacts of climate change on the loss of social community [11], traditional knowledge, cultural identity [12] or natural and socio-economic systems [13] have well documented but few studies have considered climate impacts on cultural heritage sites [14]. This study, aims to initiate a debate about the concept of cultural heritage as the primary step in the development of climate-resilience policies for heritage sites, while climate change is transforming the social, economic, and political dynamics across different geographies [20]. The efficiency of climate-resilience policies are not visible in the short term [21], and the way that the concept of cultural heritage defines under the spotlight of climate change would be in great importance for the protection of cultural heritage and for the sustainability of the landscape [22]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion