Resilience and transformation of heritage sites to accommodate for loss and learning in a changing climate
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Resilience and transformation of heritage sites to accommodate for loss and learning in a changing climate Erin Seekamp 1
& Eugene Jo
2
Received: 14 January 2020 / Accepted: 28 July 2020 / Published online: 7 August 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract
The predicted increases in climate change vulnerability of heritage sites are alarming. Yet, heritage management focuses on enabling a steady state of heritage sites to ensure the continuity of values embedded within those properties. In this paper, we use the concept of resilience to demonstrate how expanding the heritage paradigm from solely a preservation perspective to one that also embraces a transformation perspective can accommodate for loss as well as promote learning. We argue that adaptation as currently conceptualized in the heritage field is limited, as it is not economically or ecologically feasible for all heritage sites or properties. When heritage properties are severely impacted by climatic events, we suggest that some remain damaged to serve as a memory of that event and the inherent vulnerabilities embedded in places. Moreover, when confronted with projected climatic impacts that exceed a financially viable threshold or ecological reality, or when rights holders or associated communities deem persistent adaptation unacceptable, we argue for transformation. We claim that transformation enables a reorganization of values focused on the discovery of future values embedded within changing associations and benefits. Therefore, we recommend that the heritage field adopts an alternative heritage policy that enables transformative continuity through applications of persistent and autonomous or anticipatory adaptation. We conclude by suggesting a pathway for such change at the international level; specifically, we call for the World Heritage Convention to develop a new grouping of sites, World Heritage Sites in Climatic Transformation. Keywords Climate change . Heritage management . Continuity . World heritage
* Erin Seekamp [email protected] Eugene Jo [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
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Climatic Change (2020) 162:41–55
1 Introduction Climate change threats to heritage properties are increasingly being studied (Fatorić & Seekamp 2017a), invoking national- and international-level responses. For example, the U.S. National Park Service’s published report, “Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy,” not only provides guidance for adaptation but also succinctly summarizes the impacts of temperature change, precipitation change, sea level rise, increased greenhouse gas emissions on archeological resources, cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, museum collections, and buildings and structures (Rockman et al. 2016). The International Council on Monuments and Sites’ (ICOMOS) report, “The Future of Our Pasts: Engaging Cultural Heritage in Climate Action,” provides a multidisciplinary overview of the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change (ICOMOS 2019). The prestige of World Heritage site
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