US/ICOMOS

Inter-ISC Cooperative Projects:
Global Climate Change (GCC) and Its Effects on Cultural Heritage

30 November 2006 (revised 17 March 2007)

SC Coordinator:  Pamela Jerome (ISCEAH)

Email:  pjerome @ attglobal.net (remove spaces)

Contact at Secretariat: Susan Duyker

Preliminary Working Group:

Purpose:  This brief is a document presenting the Scientific Council’s strategy and program to contribute to the work of ICOMOS in relation to the theme of Global Climate Change (GCC).  The Scientific Council (SC) and its membership of International Scientific Committees (ISC) of ICOMOS have developed this initiative to bring together the various professional and scientific fields of the organization to bear on this increasingly threatening subject.  It will be implemented by the Scientific Council in coordination with other initiatives of ICOMOS or its National Committees, particularly in the context of Resolution #35 or the 15th General Assembly adopted in Xi’an (China) in 2005, and/or in support of ICOMOS’s contribution to research undertaken by the World Heritage Center (WHC) relative to climate change and World Heritage, in accordance with the decisions of the intergovernmental World Heritage Committee. 

Background:  Global Climate Change (GCC) is a topic being discussed in a major way at the international level, involving governments, development banks, environmentalists, businesses, etc, yet cultural heritage issues are woefully underrepresented.  A British study released on 30 October 2006 “conclude[d] that rapid and substantial spending to combat global warming is needed to avert a catastrophic reduction in worldwide productivity on the scale of the Great Depression that could devastate food sources, cause widespread deaths and turn hundreds of millions of people into refugees” (Kim Murphy, “Warming Forecast:  Economic Disaster,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 31, 2006, page A1).

Global Climate Change was first suggested as a topic for interdisciplinary research at the International Scientific Committee retreat in Bergen in September 2004.  During ICOMOS’s 15th GA held in Xi’an, China in October 2005, Resolution 35 on Climate Change was unanimously adopted.  During the SC meeting in Rome in June 2006, GCC was adopted as an Inter-ISC scientific theme by ICORP (Risk Preparedness), IPHC (Polar Heritage) and ISCEAH (Earthen Architectural Heritage).  It was agreed that a preliminary report would be presented at the SC meeting in Edinburgh in September 2006.

The World Heritage Committee has also shown interest in this topic.  During the World Heritage Committee’s 29th session, the World Heritage Center was asked to convene a working group of experts to explore the impacts of climate change on World Heritage (Decision 29 COM 7B.a).  As a result, a special expert meeting of the World Heritage Convention (World Heritage and Climate Change) was convened in Paris at UNESCO’s headquarters on 16-17 March 2006.  The meeting, supported by the government of the UK and the United Nations Foundation, was held between the World Heritage Committee, World Heritage Center, the Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM), and experts from around the world.  This led to the development of a document, “Predicting and Managing the Effects of Climate Change on World Heritage” (WHC-06/30.COM/7.1, available on the web at http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/news/documents/news-262-1.doc) which was issued at the 30th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania in July 2006, as well as the adoption of Decision 30 COM 7.1.

In early November 2006, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) hosted the 12th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 2nd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Nairobi, Kenya.  UNEP and researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute have recently issued a report, The Atlas of Climate Change:  Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge (available for purchase through www.earthscan.co.uk and www.ucpress,edu).  Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, stated that “We must … use our intelligence and scientific know-how to assist managers of culturally important sites like buildings and archaeological finds.  Losses here as a result of climate change may impact on the livelihoods of local people and, especially in developing countries, add to poverty…”  Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, further said in reference to World Heritage Sites, “Protecting and ensuring the sustainable management of these sites has, therefore, become an intergovernmental priority of the highest order,” (“National Parks, Ancient Artifacts, Monuments and Barrier Reefs at Risk from Global Climate Change,” UNEP Press Release, 7 November 2006).  UNEP’s climate change website for the UN Climate Change Conference is http://www.unep.org/themes/climatechange/UNFCCC/.

UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization established in 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  Its role is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts, and options for adaptation and mitigation.  IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate-related data or other relative parameters.  It bases its assessment mainly on peer-reviewed published scientific and technical literature.  IPCC publishes periodic assessments of the nature and impact of climate change.  The Third Assessment was issued in 2001 and can be found on their website (http://www.ipcc.ch/).  The Fourth Assessment is scheduled to be published in 2007.

SC Initiative:  From the preliminary GCC report prepared by IPHC and ISCEAH and submitted to the Scientific Council at the Edinburgh SC meeting in September 2006, as well as from the WHC report, it is obvious that there are and will be serious ramifications of GCC to cultural heritage.  The WHC report also confirms that IUCN is way ahead of ICOMOS in terms of its research on this topic.  This is most likely a result of the fact that the environmentalists have been studying the effects of GCC on natural heritage for several decades.  The WHC report, however, identifies key areas of concern for GCC’s effect on cultural heritage.  These include:

a) The uncertain state of conservation for sensitive archaeological materials preserved underground once the equilibrium of burial is altered due to changes in the hydrological, chemical and biological processes of the soil.

b) Increases in soil moisture resulting in greater salt mobilization having damaging effects on historic buildings, which tend to be less isolated from the ground and to be constructed of more porous materials than their modern equivalents.

c) Migration of pests in altitudes and latitudes subjecting timber and organic construction materials to increased biological infestation.

d) Increased flooding causing deterioration to materials that cannot sustain prolonged immersion and potentially encouraging damaging microorganism growth (mould), in addition to the risks posed by the eroding effects of rapidly flowing water.

e) Structural damage caused by increased strength of storms and wind gusts. 

f)  Moveable heritage subjected to higher RH, temperatures and UV exposure.

g) Implications to societal systems and resulting population migrations due to environmental conditions, like drought, which are no longer conducive to sustaining traditional ways of life (agriculture, human health, and infrastructure).  This would amount to a loss of local populations who effectively sustain and maintain various cultural sites (WHC-06/30.COM/7.1, pages 29-32).

In addition to this list, we add:

h) Economic impacts due to loss of cultural tourism.  Conversely, impacts to fragile materials due to increase of cultural tourism at previously less accessible sites.

i)  Resulting losses to intangible heritage, cultural landscapes, vernacular construction technologies, and sustainable construction and repair practices.

j)  Increase of freeze/thaw cycles and their effect on porous building materials.

k) Differential settlement causing structural damage due to changes in soil compaction through dewatering or increase in ground water levels.

Goals:  As a first step, the goals of the SC initiative are for the ISCs to perform the research necessary to produce a report of case studies linked to the scientific data on GCC.  The report would be edited and issued in the late spring of 2007.

The next step would be to organize a scientific symposium at the Advisory Committee meeting, scheduled for the fall of 2007 in South Africa, in which the focus would be to propose conclusions and recommendations for adaptation to the effects of GCC in reference to cultural heritage sites.  At this point, initiatives for creating and implementing Inter-ISC cooperative adaptation projects would also be proposed and adopted.

Following this, a second meeting would be organized for the late spring of 2008 bringing together interested parties and reviewing the preliminary results of the Inter-ISC cooperative adaptation projects and strategies.

Outreach would be accomplished through the dissemination of reports and publications.

Research: Each ISC and interested NC is to designate a representative who will join the Inter-ISC GCC working group and cooperate to issue the reports and meet targeted deadlines.  Each ISC and interested NC is to begin researching GCC’s effects on cultural heritage in their particular area of expertise or geographical location.  Reports are to be solicited, collected, edited and organized as a single coherent document from each ISC and interested NC.

ISCs and interested NCs are encouraged to interact with relevant national and international organizations studying GCC.  (Several universities have programs studying GCC including the Center for Sustainable Heritage at the University College London, and Yale, Michigan State and Duke University in the US.   The International Committee of the Blue Shield is an organization which also comes to mind.)  Scientific data for GCC exists but has seldom been collated and interpreted towards its effects on cultural heritage.  Anecdotal evidence has to be qualified by scientific climatic data, if we are in any way to influence decision makers.  This data is a product of long-term monitoring, and access to it may be possible through coordination with CIPA or IPCC.

Although case studies cited do not have to be specifically about World Heritage Sites, the final product of the Inter-ISC Cooperative Project should produce material that is useful to and informs the research of the WHC.

Report Structure: Each report should begin with the identification of the site and its designation status (WH site, nationally or locally designated, etc).   Following this there should be a description of general conditions of the place.  The reports should then describe the anecdotal evidence, physical evidence, and meteorological data.  An evaluation should follow of risk preparedness strategies that are in place.  Finally, proposed solutions should be discussed.

Some of the questions reports should seek to answer are:

What is the current situation?

What is the predicted future climate change?

How rapidly is it changing?

What are additional causes (other than general climate change), like pollution, lack of risk preparedness and adaptation, etc?

What are the consequences of climate change impact in the short, medium and longer term?

Is the site being recorded either for posterity or to monitor change?

What is the proposed adaptation remedy (if any)?

What are the site managers actually doing to cope with the predicted impacts?

What else needs to be done and when?

In addition, reports should be mindful of differences between Kyoto Protocol non-signatory (Australia, USA, India, China, etc) and signatory countries.  What are signatory countries doing differently to prepare for the effects of climate change on their cultural heritage sites and what are the results of these actions (good or bad)?  From these case studies, can strategies be developed to lobby non-signatory countries?

Schedule:

YEAR 1(2006-07) Tasks: 

Each ISC and interested NC to participate by researching the cooperative initiative.  Each ISC and interested NC to make contact and cooperate with related international and national organizations.  Announcement of Inter-ISC Cooperative Project on GCC (30 November 2006)

Organize a 1-day scientific symposium for the next Advisory Committee meeting in SA.   SA organizers to identify a representative to join the Inter-ISC GCC working group (Deadline:  15 December 2006)

Each ISC and interested NC to designate a representative to coordinate and communicate with the Inter-ISC GCC working group.  Finalize the working group (Deadline:  15 December 2006)

Finalize the sub-committee of the working group to organize the Inter-ISC GCC scientific symposium (Deadline:  15 December 2006)

Encourage ISC representation at the NOAH’S ARK project (Global Climate Change Impact of the Built Heritage and Cultural Landscapes) workshop at University College London, UK on 18-19 January 2007 (Deadline for registration:  15 December 2006)

Representatives of each ISC and interested NC to indicate their level of participation on the GCC scientific theme (Deadline:  31 January 2007)

Representatives of each ISC and interested NC to summarize progress made on their issues and reports related to GCC (Deadline:  15 March 2007)

Each ISC and interested NC to produce a paper and/or combined papers (Deadline:  1 May 2007)

Edit, organize and circulate papers electronically as a basis for the plenary discussion at the scientific symposium (Deadline:  15 May 2007)

Produce notes for an ICOMOS position paper on GCC for workshop organized on the occasion of ICORP meeting in Delhi, India (Deadline: 22 May 2007)

Scientific symposium sub-committee to select a few papers for presentation at the morning session of the scientific symposium (Deadline: 31 May 2007)

SC contribution to “Heritage at Risk” ICOMOS publication (Deadline:  15 June 2007)

Produce conclusions and recommendations for adaptation to GCC in reference to cultural heritage sites during afternoon session of the scientific symposium (Advisory Committee meeting 2007)

Propose Inter-ISC cooperative adaptation projects for implementation of adaptation strategies for GCC at specific cultural heritage sites (Advisory Committee meeting 2007)

Set up a working group to begin organizing an open international meeting on the same theme (Advisory Committee meeting 2007)

YEAR 2 (2007-08) Tasks:

Begin to implement Inter-ISC GCC cooperative adaptation projects.  Combine with initiatives of kindred organizations if possible

Fundraise for open international meeting

Provide conclusions and recommendations from SA meeting and distribute through ICOMOS Newsletter (December 2007)

World Conference on Global Climate Change and Effects on the Structures of Cultural Heritage, Macao, SAR, China (5-7 March 2008)

Hold open international meeting to review and showcase preliminary results of Inter-ISC GCC cooperative adaptation projects (Late spring 2008)

Propose a motion at the 16th GA relative to GCC and cultural heritage with an action plan engaging ISCs and NCs of ICOMOS, and in particular, the Scientific Council, as well as members and partners (16th GA, October 2008)

Propose and adopt the scientific theme for the next three-year Inter-ISC Cooperative Project at the meeting of the SC at the Quebec GA (Deadline:  16th GA, October 2008)

YEAR 3 (2008-09) Tasks:

Publish and disseminate results from international meeting

Collect preliminary reports on next Inter-ISC scientific theme (Deadline:  31 May 2009)