CHN Members Help Deliver New Project to Support Climate Action in Africa Through Cultural Heritage

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Nov 19

Climate Heritage Network members from around the world are contributing to a new project to support climate action in Africa through cultural heritage. The project, which was announced today, will pilot application of the Climate Vulnerability Index for World Heritage properties in Africa (the CVI-Africa project). It is led by institutions in Africa and the United Kingdom.

The CVI-Africa project is made possible through a generous grant awarded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Global Challenges Research Fund. The grant was funded through a demonstration scheme arranged by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). The CHN network allowed multiple CHN member institutions to come together over a short period of time to develop the CVI-Africa proposal in order to take advantage of the AHRC/DCMS funding opportunity.

Promoting solidarity with arts, culture and heritage offices and agencies in frontline and underserved communities is a key aim of the CHN. Across the globe, climate change poses an existential threat to people, communities and their heritage. Africa is projected to warm more rapidly than most other regions in the world, meaning this already vulnerable continent will be hard-hit by the impacts of climate change.

Dr Albino Jopela of the African World Heritage Fund, a co-investigator on the project and the Co-Chair of the CHN’s Africa and the Arab States Region said: ‘Despite the intensifying threat, there remains a lack of attention to the cultural dimensions of climate change and this is especially true across the African continent. The CVI-Africa project will help fill this gap.’

‘These climate change impacts are already resulting in the loss and damage of cultural heritage sites across Africa’ said Dr Will Megarry of Queen’s University Belfast, a CHN member and the project’s lead investigator. ‘This loss is not limited to historical and archaeological buildings and places, it is also impacting communities and their cultural traditions. How those who care for Africa’s cultural heritage respond to the threat of climate change has profound implications for the resilience of the broader community.’

“The CVI is a rapid evaluation tool that was developed to analyse climate risk for World Heritage properties by considering historical and projected climate impacts on the recognised values” said Jon Day, who co-developed the CVI along with Dr Scott Heron at James Cook University (Australia). Dr Heron added, “It not only assesses the vulnerability of heritage values but, unlike many other tools, also looks at the vulnerability of associated communities based on their economic, social and cultural relationships to those values and their capacity to adapt.” The CVI-Africa project will undertake the first CVI application in Africa.

The CVI was first applied to cultural heritage at the ‘Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ World Heritage Site in the UK. Dr Ewan Hyslop, Head of Technical Research & Science at Historic Environment Scotland (HES) who supported the Orkney trial, and is a Co-Investigator in the CVI-Africa project, called the project “a great opportunity to bring together a wide range of international experts to work collaboratively in the face of the shared challenge of climate change.” Historic Environment Scotland is also CHN Co-Chair.

The CVI-Africa project will provide foundational training in the CVI method to six African heritage professionals. The project will culminate in workshops at two World Heritage Sites impacted by climate change — the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Nigeria and The Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara in Tanzania. These workshops will include the six heritage professionals, local and national experts and stakeholders, and international partners. More broadly, the CVI-Africa project will support communities in their efforts to safeguard cultural heritage, respond to climate change and seek sustainable development options.

Speaking about the Sukur Cultural Landscape, Dr Ishanlosen Odiaua of ICOMOS Nigeria, a CHN Member, said: ‘Sukur reflects the complexity of assessing vulnerability. Located in the Mandara Mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border, the impacts of climate change have induced shifts in the political and local economies, with attendant risks to cultural heritage. Supporting local communities and national authorities to develop tools that build on local experience and realities, can help them manage these risks and plan for the future. We hope that the CVI can contribute to fulfilling that need.’

Fostering new relationships and encouraging knowledge exchange is another core mission of the CHN, which was launched in 2019 to promote the critical role that arts, culture and heritage can play in moving towards a low-carbon, climate resilience future. Other CHN members partnering in the CVI-Africa project include the International Committee on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Historic England, the International National Trust Organisation (INTO) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

‘It’s inspiring to see Climate Heritage Network members from Africa, the UK and across the globe come together in the CVI-Africa project, learning from each other how to improve the cultural heritage response to climate change,’ said Andrew Potts, coordinator of the CHN Secretariat. ‘It’s exactly why the CHN was formed and a model we must urgently replicate, especially in support of communities on the frontlines of this climate emergency,’ he added.