Risk assessment and sustainable protection of Cultural Heritage in changing environment

ProteCHt2save is funded by the EU Interreg Central Europe programme, led by the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate - National Research Council of Italy (IT) and carried out in partnership with 9 other partner organisations from Central Europe.

Our cultural heritage is threatened by environmental impacts and natural disasters. But the people around cultural heritage sites are also exposed to this threat: visitors and staff of cultural heritage sites, as well as the local population: by the threat itself, but also by possible financial losses due to a lack of tourism. This is a major risk for all those who depend on tourism income.

ProteCHt2save aims to improve the protection, management and sustainable use of cultural heritage and its enhancement in a changing environment. This will be achieved through the development and implementation of regional and local strategies based on the careful processing, harmonisation and dissemination of existing information on the vulnerability and resilience of cultural heritage to extreme events (heavy rainfall, floods, storms, drought-related fires).

In accordance with the so-called EU Floods Directive, flood hazard maps have been developed in most European countries. They are intended to show the cultural property at risk from flooding. However, they do not provide information on the condition of the historic property and how it might change during a flood. Many of these objects require preventive measures - maintenance, repair of damages or simply the installation of a temporary support in case of a disaster.

The countries of Central Europe are characterised by a high density of monuments, cultural landscapes and cultural heritage worthy of preservation. The existing institutional framework for the promotion of cultural heritage is improving, but there are still a number of problems that need to be addressed, such as

1. the lack of coherent action plans and mechanisms for cooperation between different types and levels of government
2. the low level of dissemination of knowledge on the protection of monuments and cultural sites
3. frequent legislative changes in the field of management of cultural institutions.

In addition, recent scientific research has confirmed that climate change is an unavoidable reality that needs to be addressed in order to minimise its impact on various issues. One of these issues is climate change in relation to historic buildings and sites, which may be affected by increased rainfall, floods, droughts or erosion.

The central objective of the project is to develop tailored solutions to

• to increase the resilience of cultural heritage to natural disasters, and
• to improve existing capacities for the sustainable use of cultural property.

The project focuses on integrative and transnational approaches to the development and implementation of regional and local emergency and evacuation plans:

• Development of ICT solutions (inventories and maps) for risk management and protection of cultural heritage in Central Europe
• Development of tools (decision support, best practice handbook, transnational rescue handbook) identifying disaster resilience practices/strategies for cultural heritage to make best use of existing but not fully exploited and shared data
• Test and implement innovative management strategies and plans developed with the active participation of communities
• Pilot actions in selected high-risk areas as examples for the development and implementation of ProteCHt2save strategies and to stimulate the improvement of existing disaster management plans in Central Europe
• Introduction of contingency plans in communities for the protection and sustainable use of cultural heritage
• Development of a transnational strategy to encourage the introduction of heritage protection plans in emergency situations

Another important outcome is the provision of information on the protection of cultural heritage in the context of natural disasters at different administrative levels in order to improve awareness and implementation of the proposals. ProteCHt2save proactively addresses the needs of stakeholders and relevant administrative authorities to improve the protection of cultural heritage and to promote the active participation of the population and local communities.

Through transnational cooperation, ProteCHt2save primarily improves the capacity of communities in Central Europe to increase the resilience of cultural property to natural disasters related to climate change. Improved risk management and understanding of the local context of cultural heritage protection should lead to more sustainable and effective protection and management. To achieve the project outcomes, partner organisations from 7 countries will share their experiences in the field of protection and conservation of cultural landscapes with the aim of implementing innovative management models.