‘The spirit will be here, and hopefully the music too’ perceptions of the future of culture and heritage in the context of climate change on Fanø

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite much attention to physical aspects of climate change, the relationship between climate change and culture has thus far received little attention in research. Cultures develop over time and are shaped by place-specific factors such as history, landscape, weather, flora and fauna. Climate change affects these contextual factors, and as such will have consequences for the cultures shaped by them. In addressing the intersection of culture and climate change, the paper draws on a qualitative study on Fanø, a low-lying Danish island in the Wadden Sea. We illustrate how the cultural heritage of Fanø’s seafaring past plays an important role in the everyday culture of the present. The cultural heritage and the nature of Fanø are at the core of the island’s identity. As climate change will affect the community’s ability to maintain their cultural heritage and will change the island’s natural values, it will affect what it means to be Fanniker.