The Recovery and Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage: The Socio-Economic Approach

Abstract

The increase in armed conflict and natural hazards is the major threat to cultural heritage around the world. According to new data provided by the World Bank and UNESCO, disasters will cost cities across the globe ‘some US$314 billion in annual damage and losses’ by 2030. Millions of people have been displaced or recognised as refugees. Together, these factors produce a need for rethinking the socio-economic aspects of cultural heritage reconstruction and why they are important. This paper presents an analysis of the socio-economic aspects of recovery or reconstruction in international doctrinal texts (soft law) and policy documents. The article also looks at the role played by the intentional destruction historic centre of Warsaw, its subsequent recovery, and its exceptional inscription on the World Heritage List in 1980 in the process of developing this discourse. These experiences served as the starting point for reopening and reinvigorating the debate over the recovery and reconstruction of cultural heritage, helping to establish the non-binding principles introduced in the Warsaw Recommendation on the Recovery and Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage, which emphasizes the socio-economic aspects and the need for a people-centred approach to recovery and reconstruction.