The interaction between cultural heritage and community resilience in disaster-affected volcanic regions

Abstract

Research on cultural heritage and disasters often focuses on the vulnerability of heritage and ways to disaster-proof it against geophysical, societal, and environmental hazards. However, heritage might in turn also increase the resilience of the communities in which it is present, for example by providing livelihood diversification, helping build social connections, and embedding local knowledge of past disasters. This study analysed how cultural heritage might contribute to multiple aspects of community disaster resilience. It builds on an analysis of resilience and disaster-related cultural heritage of four communities living around Besakih Temple located on Mount Agung volcano in Bali, Indonesia, using a mixed-methods MDSO (Most Different Same Outcome) multi-criteria analysis based on questionnaire-guided interviews with 114 respondents. While the variation of cultural heritage across sites is as predicted by theoretical literature, resilience varies considerably across the sites, depending on the type of resilience. Heritage had most positive effect on disaster preparedness and institutional aspects of community resilience. The results highlighted that connecting ‘regular’ disaster management and planning to local cultural heritage can provide valuable synergies for community resilience. Effects on other aspects of resilience were less clear and were likely mediated by existing socio-economic vulnerabilities and the geographical isolation of some of the communities. Further research could benefit from viewing cultural heritage through a ‘community capital’ lens, including matters of equitable access, capacity-building, community-based action, and interactions between cultural capital and other capitals, such as social, economic, political, human, physical, and natural.