NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF SEA LEVEL RISE VULNERABILITY OF ARCHEOLOGICAL HERITAGE SITES OF TURKIYE

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The coastal cultural heritage sites are expected to be affected negatively by sea-level rise, although these impacts will be observed at different levels in different areas. ICOMOS (2019) has urged the member states to determine and assess the vulnerability and risks of those cultural heritage sites that are under threat and increase the efforts to protect and adapt these locations to the impacts of climate change. Turkey has many significant natural and archeological heritage sites with outstanding values, and these areas are protected by law. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TUBITAK) funded project “Vulnerability of Coastal Cultural Heritage Areas to Sea Level Rise and Its Impacts” (No: 122M613) focused on assessing the vulnerability of the coastal areas with heritage sites (both natural and cultural sites protected by law) to sea level rise and its impacts (coastal erosion, inundation and coastal flooding due to extreme water levels) using the Fuzzy Coastal Vulnerability Assessment Model, FCVAM (Ozyurt, 2010). Within the project, an additional module is developed to determine the vulnerability of coastal cultural heritage sites based on their interaction with the coastal area and the coastal vulnerability. The assessments use several sea level rise projections based on different climate change scenarios to ensure that the vulnerability of these sites reflects the latest sea level rise research and the uncertainty ranges. Thus, the coastal cultural heritage sites of Turkiye will be prioritized according to their vulnerability at a national level and using a multi-dimensional approach. This study will present these Turkish coastal archeological heritage sites exposed to impacts of sea level rise, their respective coastal vulnerability indices, and the heritage vulnerability results based on the heritage site characteristics and their interaction with the coastal vulnerability.