Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Increasing the Resilience of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change Through the Application of a Learning Strategy

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover Transdisciplinary Multispectral Modeling and Cooperation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (TMM_CH 2018)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 961))

Abstract

There is growing concern about the threat posed by climate change to cultural heritage, notably to World Heritage properties. Climate change is triggering changes in rainfall patterns, humidity and temperature, as well as increasing exposure to severe weather events that can negatively impact on cultural heritage materials and structures by enhancing the mechanical, chemical and biological processes causing degradation. In response to this climate change challenge, the Climate for Culture (CfC) project, funded by the European Commission, investigated the impacts of climate change on the European cultural heritage through the use of a high-resolution regional climate model that projected future changes in climatic conditions, and simulated the future conditions of the interiors of historical buildings and their impacts on the collections they hold using building simulation tools. This paper compares the climate change impacts on cultural heritage identified by the CfC project with semi-structured interviews with experts working on cultural heritage preservation in Norway, Italy and the UK. Hence, the perceptions of the cultural heritage community on the impacts of climate change on heritage assets are first explored, which are then compared with the risk matrices produced by the CfC project as a decision-support tool to inform managers involved in the preservation of cultural heritage. In addition, the learning strategy underpinning examples of climate change adaptive measures applied to cultural heritage is discussed. Through the identification of the current learning strategy in the case study sites, this research highlights the lack of dissemination of the outcomes of scientific research to managers of cultural heritage in the context of adaptation to climate change impacts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Argyris, C., Schön, D.: Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Addison Wesley, Reading (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertolin, C., Camuffo, D.: Climate change impact on movable and immovable cultural heritage throughout Europe, Climate for Culture, Deliverable 5.2 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  • Brimblecombe, P., Grossi, C.M., Harris, I.: Climate change critical to cultural heritage. In: Gökçekus, H., Türker, U., Lamoreaux, J.W. (eds.) Survival and Sustainability: Environmental Concerns in the 21st Century, pp. 195–205. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-95991-5_20

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Carmichael, B., et al.: Local and Indigenous management of climate change risks to archaeological sites. Mitig. Adapt. Strateg. Glob. Change 23, 231–255 (2017a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carmichael, B., Wilson, G., Namarnyilk, I., Nadji, S., Cahill, J., Bird, D.: Testing the scoping phase of a bottom-up planning guide designed to support Australian Indigenous rangers manage the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage sites. Local Environ. 22, 1197–1216 (2017b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casey, A.: Climate Change and Coastal Cultural Heritage: Insights from Three National Parks. Open Access Dissertations, University of Rhode Island (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassar, J.: Climate change and archaeological sites: adaptation strategies. In: Lefèvre, R.-A., Sabbioni, C. (eds.) Cultural Heritage from Pollution to Climate Change. Edipuglia srl., Barri (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassar, M.: Climate Change and the Historic Environment. Centre for Sustainable Heritage, University College London, London (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassar, M., Pender, R.: The impact of climate change on cultural heritage: evidence and response. In: ICOM Committee for Conservation: 14th Triennial Meeting the Hague Preprints (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fatorić, S., Seekamp, E.: Evaluating a decision analytic approach to climate change adaptation of cultural resources along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Land Use Policy 68, 254–263 (2017a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fatorić, S., Seekamp, E.: Securing the future of cultural heritage by identifying barriers to and strategizing solutions for preservation under changing climate conditions. Sustainability 9, 2143 (2017b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, S.R.J., et al.: Are coastal managers detecting the problem? Assessing stakeholder perception of climate vulnerability using fuzzy cognitive mapping. Ocean Coastal Manag. 94, 74–89 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grøntoft, T.: Climate change impact on building surfaces and façades. Int. J. Clim. Change Strateg. Manag. 3, 374–385 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, C.M.: Heritage, heritage tourism and climate change. J. Herit. Tour. 11, 1–9 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, C.M., Baird, T., James, M., Ram, Y.: Climate change and cultural heritage: conservation and heritage tourism in the Anthropocene. J. Herit. Tour. 11, 10–24 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanssen-Bauer, I., et al.: Climate in Norway 2100 NCCS report no. 1/2017 Lead authors – a knowledge base for climate adaptation. Miljødirektoratet (2017). http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/M741/. Accessed 25 Sep 2018

  • Haugen, A., Mattsson, J.: Preparations for climate change’s influences on cultural heritage. Int. J. Clim. Change Strateg. Manag. 3, 386–401 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heathcote, J., Fluck, H., Wiggins, M.: Predicting and adapting to climate change: challenges for the historic environment. Hist. Environ. Policy Pract. 8, 89–100 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HES: A climate change risk assessment. screening for natural hazards to inform of the properties in care of historic environment Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC: Summary for Policymakers, Emissions Scenarios, A Special Report of IPCC Working Group III, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2000). https://ipcc.ch/pdf/special-reports/spm/sres-en.pdf. Accessed 25 Sep 2018

  • IPCC: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K., Meyer, L.A. (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp. (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leissner, J., et al.: Climate for Culture: assessing the impact of climate change on the future indoor climate in historic buildings using simulations. Herit. Sci. 3, 38 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loli, A., Bertolin, C.: Indoor multi-risk scenarios of climate change effects on building materials in Scandinavian countries. Geosciences 8, 347 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald-Madden, E., et al.: Active adaptive conservation of threatened species in the face of uncertainty. Ecol. Appl. 20, 1476–1489 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, H.: Adaptation to climate change at UK world heritage sites: progress and challenges. Hist. Environ. Policy Pract. 5, 288–299 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollard-Belsheim, A., Storey, M., Robinson, C., Bell, T.: The CARRA project: developing tools to help managers identify and respond to coastal hazard impacts on archaeological resources. IEEE (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabbioni, C., Brimblecombe, P., Cassar, M.: The Atlas of Climate Change Impact on European Cultural Heritage. Scientific Analysis and Management Strategies. Anthem Press, London (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabbioni, C., Cassar, M., Brimblecombe, P., Lefevre, R.A.: Vulnerability of cultural heritage to climate change. European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA), Council of Europe, Strasbourg (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sesana, E., Gagnon, A., Bertolin, C., Hughes, J.: Adapting cultural heritage to climate change risks: perspectives of cultural heritage experts in Europe. Geosciences 8, 305 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner-Mcallister, S.L., Rhodes, J., Hockings, M.: Managing for climate change on protected areas: an adaptive management decision making framework. J. Environ. Manag. 204, 510–518 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, A.M., et al.: RCP4.5: a pathway for stabilization of radiative forcing by 2100. Clim. Change 109, 77 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0151-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, B.K.: Passive and active adaptive management: approaches and an example. J. Environ. Manag. 92, 1371–1378 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, PA1 2BE, UK

    Elena Sesana & John Hughes

  2. Department of Architecture and Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Chiara Bertolin & Arian Loli

  3. School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK

    Alexandre S. Gagnon

  4. Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung, Munich, Germany

    Johanna Leissner

Authors
  1. Elena Sesana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chiara Bertolin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arian Loli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alexandre S. Gagnon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John Hughes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Johanna Leissner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Hughes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Antonia Moropoulou

  2. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Manolis Korres

  3. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Andreas Georgopoulos

  4. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Constantine Spyrakos

  5. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Charalambos Mouzakis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Sesana, E., Bertolin, C., Loli, A., Gagnon, A.S., Hughes, J., Leissner, J. (2019). Increasing the Resilience of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change Through the Application of a Learning Strategy. In: Moropoulou, A., Korres, M., Georgopoulos, A., Spyrakos, C., Mouzakis, C. (eds) Transdisciplinary Multispectral Modeling and Cooperation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. TMM_CH 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 961. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12957-6_29

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12957-6_29

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12956-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12957-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation