Risk Assessments in Heritage Planning in Victoria and New South Wales: A Survey of Conservation Plans and Heritage Studies

Abstract

This study assesses to what extent natural disaster hazards are addressed in the conservation planning for cultural heritage places that are not part of national parks and other protected areas. Surveyed were all conservation management plans written between 1987 and 2003 for heritage properties in NSW and Victoria, as well as all heritage studies completed between 1985 and 2003 for local government areas in Victoria. Despite much public exposure as part of the UN International Decade of Disaster Reduction, natural disasters are not considered a threat that should be planned for. While conservation action to combat slow-acting decay is addressed in all cases, less than 10% of conservation management plans make any mention of natural disasters. Yet such events can destroy a heritage place in a matter of hours or even seconds. The extent to which those studies address the hazards is also very varied. There is much room for improvement if heritage is to have a future in the face of disasters. The nature of adequate risk assessment and disaster management planning is discussed and suggestions for plan content are made. Recent developments in Victoria, mandating risk assessments in conservation management plans, are a step in the right direction.