Climate Change and Sustaining Heritage Resources: A Framework for Boosting Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation in Central Italy
by
Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi 1,*, Massimo Sargolini 1, Shorna Broussard Allred 2, Allison Chatrchyan 3 and Giuseppe De Luca 4
Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi 1,*, Massimo Sargolini 1, Shorna Broussard Allred 2, Allison Chatrchyan 3 and Giuseppe De Luca 4
1
School of Architecture and Design, University of Camerino, Ascoli Piceno, 63100, Italy
2
Center for Conservation Social Sciences, Department of Natural Resources & Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
3
Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
4
School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florence, 50121 Firenze, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Climate 2020, 8(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8020026
Received: 9 January 2020 / Revised: 28 January 2020 / Accepted: 31 January 2020 / Published: 5 February 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue World Heritage and Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptation)
Climate change has dramatically affected the rainfall patterns and water systems in Central Italy. The vulnerability of this area to climate change and natural hazards necessitates that appropriate adaptation policies be put in place to protect heritage sites. This study aims to develop a cultural and natural heritage conservation framework for Central Italy that enhances the capacity of climate change adaptation for heritage resources. For this purpose, a comparison was made between the UNESCO (United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Convention of 1972 and the European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe to achieve a coherent vision for the protection of heritage resources in Europe. After describing the impacts of climate change on heritage resources in Central Italy, we analyze and suggest improvements to the conservation framework for wisely protecting heritage resources in a changing climate. The findings reveal that conservation sectors require assessments of the value of heritage resources at the territorial scale to effectively define conservation priorities, assess the vulnerabilities, and more precisely direct funding. In this respect, the integration of the European Landscape Convention with territorial planning may boost the unity of a conservation framework in terms of climate change while providing new opportunities for conservation authorities to develop adaptation policies.
Keywords:
climate change; heritage resources; conservation; adaptation capacity; territorial planning
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Shirvani Dastgerdi, A.; Sargolini, M.; Broussard Allred, S.; Chatrchyan, A.; De Luca, G. Climate Change and Sustaining Heritage Resources: A Framework for Boosting Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation in Central Italy. Climate 2020, 8, 26.
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