The gap of cultural heritage protection with climate change adaptation in the context of spatial planning. The case of Greece

Abstract

The case of cultural resources, and in particular of archaeological sites, is one of the key elements of the anthropogenic environment that is affected by climate change and needs protection. At the same time, it is a field of analysis allowing the understanding of the interactions and interconnections of natural and socio-economic systems in time and in different spatial scales, thus providing useful information on the phenomenon of climate change and on how to respond and adapt to it [1]. However, the related scientific research, policies and actions are still limited, as only in the last decade [2] there has been an (albeit ever-increasing) interest in this field. The main objective of this paper is to codify protection policies and to identify a typology of actions for major archaeological sites with tourist interest in Greece, in order to identify a framework for spatial planning to meet the challenges of reducing the effects of climate change such as: the adoption of an integrated design approach to the protection of cultural heritage rather than a traditional conservation approach; linking the cultural heritage with the natural environment; Bridging existing gaps and redefining cultural heritage in dynamic and spatial terms for both climate change adaptation and also emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction.