Cultural heritage

In this study, the authors focused on shrines in Nagoya located in areas with high flood-exposure potential to explore the traditional flood-resilience strategies of shrine spaces established over several centuries.

This study examines how residents’ perceptions of disaster heritage influence attitudes toward its preservation.

In a summer of wildfires severe enough to trigger Spain’s first-ever national emergency for a forest fire, a historic stone structure called the Nevera de Castro stands in a landscape burned bare in the Castellón region

Seeking contributions on traditional medicine, vernacular architecture, agricultural practices, clothing traditions, oral history, and other community-based knowledge related to heat prevention and management.

Between 2023 and 2024, a CDKN-supported initiative in the Lawra and Nandom districts explored how women's climate knowledge could be amplified through culturally familiar communication channels.

Call for Papers now open! Submit your concept note by 1 September 2026 for the next editions of the PROCULTHER Technical Bulletin.

The country will have to decide which places can realistically be defended and which may ultimately have to be surrendered to a changing coastline.

The heatwaves of today are the coolest heatwaves we are likely to experience for the rest of our lives. SRSG Kamal Kishore reflects on how cultural institutions can play a central role in extreme heat action – and in disaster risk reduction more broadly.

The present study aims to improve the representation of floodhazard inside CH buildings, whose architectural complexity,such as intricate planimetric & altimetric layouts, often limits the reliability of micro-scale models for exposure and riskassessment.

This research combines expert elicitation on heritage attribute vulnerability with long-term and extreme climate change projections to estimate future climate change risks for 148 heritage sites and their buffer zones in China

This study examines emergency evacuation dynamics in Gulangyu, China, a UNESCO World Heritage site, using agent-based modelling combined with field experiments and behavioural data.

The UNESCO Regional Office for the Pacific States has advanced efforts to integrate intangible cultural heritage into education systems across the Pacific, with a particular focus on disaster risk reduction and resilience-building.

As climate change intensifies flooding, Pennsylvania’s historic sites built along waterways are increasingly vulnerable, making adaptation a “critical, absolute need” to avoid permanent loss.

This sixth issue of the Technical Bulletin opens with a foreword from the European External Action Service - EEAS, which reaffirms that the protection of cultural heritage transcends national and European borders, particularly in times of conflict.

Preserving Legacies, a National Geographic Society project dedicated to safeguarding global natural and cultural heritage sites from climate change impacts, was awarded the Local Adaptation Champion Award for Citizen Science at COP30.

At the edge of Salem’s harbor, caretakers face a race against rising seas and intensifying storms to protect a landmark bound up in America’s literary and colonial past.

Neuwerk (Germany), a small tidal island in the Wadden Sea and part of ICLEI Member City Hamburg, is becoming a valuable example of how remote communities can build resilience to climate change.

This work aims to develop a methodological framework to evaluate the multi-scale impact of function relocation in Historical Urban Built Environments (HUBEs) assessing users' vulnerability and exposure.

A year after record-breaking Hurricane Beryl, the Caribbean is still reeling – but on one island, defiant traditions are fuelling its climate resilience.

The new episode aims to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding living heritage in the face of disasters. It also introduces the core concepts of disaster risk reduction and intangible cultural heritage into schools across the Pacific region.

This study investigates the disaster-prevention adaptability of traditional temple (TT) spaces in the Longmen Mountain Area of Sichuan Province, due to their long-term survival in hazardous environments.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of public and private properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places fall within counties with high or very high wildfire risk.

These stories from four communities in three countries show how connection to culture and place can be either challenged or sustained when relocation becomes necessary.

A landmark 113-year-old church at risk from ground subsidence is being relocated in its entirety - in a 5km (3 miles) move along a road in Sweden's far north.

2025 marks ten years since the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake(s) struck Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people, and causing catastrophic damage to lives and livelihoods, as well as physical, social, and cultural infrastructure.

By 2080 rising sea levels could cause seasonal waves to reach Ahu Tongariki, the iconic ceremonial platform that is part of the Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Drawing on case studies from Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Vanuatu, Bangladesh, the Republic of Korea, and beyond, the publication illustrates how communities are leveraging ancestral knowledge and traditional practices to adapt to environmental challenges.

Our past and culture are never dead: keeping cultural heritage safe is preserving a part of our lives. SRSG Kamal Kishore reflects on some mistakes we make in DRR efforts for cultural heritage, and the lessons in resilience ancient cultures offer.

Drawing on experiences gained in managing the impact of disasters on cultural heritage, this Bulletin presents examples, case studies, approaches and strategies to manage risks at international, national, and local levels.

Rethinking priorities for post-disaster recovery is essential as the scale, frequency and impact of natural and climate change-related disasters grows.

This study investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of decay-inducing events in archaeological sites across Greece, utilizing observational data and the Ensemble of five high-resolution climate simulations from EURO-CORDEX and EC-EARTH models.

One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest settlement sites is at risk of being washed away by rising seas, according to research.

While Peru's canal systems of the past may have looked similar to those of the present, they functioned in more efficient, flexible ways. The key to adapting to our present and future climate may lie in comprehending how people used it.

READY is a groundbreaking training initiative uniting heritage professional, first aiders, risk managers, cultural bearers and emergency responders to break silos and tackle disaster risk reduction challenges to heritage.

Using a historical flood scenario, this study analyzes how urban and population changes in Florence have altered flood risk and resilience, particularly for cultural heritage.

This report presents the findings of a comprehensive assessment of Venice’s cultural heritage resilience, conducted during a workshop held in July 2024.

The Venice Sustainability Foundation published the Disaster Resilience Assessment of the city of Venice, resulting from the MCR2030 cultural heritage addendum workshop in July 2024, with endorsement from the Venice Municipality.

On Qikiqtaruk, off Canada’s Yukon coast, scientists are wielding virtual-reality cameras, 3D models and digital archives to protect the island’s history and culture before it disappears.

The EU-funded project PROCULTHER-NET 2 invites disaster risk managers, cultural heritage experts and researchers to contribute to share their experience in the field of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery to ths year's Technical Bulletins.