Brabec Selected to Participate in Meeting on Culture, Heritage and Climate Change

Elizabeth Brabec, professor of landscape architecture and regional planning and director of the Center for Heritage and Society, has been selected to participate in the International Co-sponsored Meeting on Culture, Heritage and Climate Change. This meeting is the first of its kind, bringing together the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) to explore the links between culture and heritage, climate science and climate action. The meeting brings together over 100 experts from 45 countries, representing research expertise, and insight from a wide array of disciplines.

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Climate change has long been regarded as a major threat to the physical health of populations around the world. It also represents a major threat to culture and heritage. Natural disasters and shifting weather patterns contribute to the loss of living heritage practices and traditions. At the same time, culture has the potential to provide creative solutions and mitigation to these mounting challenges. Yet culture and heritage have received limited attention when considering climate change science and responses.

“This is a critical area of international policy exemplified by the multiple border crises currently in the news, along with the struggle to move communities in the U.S. out of harm’s way from encroaching sea level rise and increasing storm events. I am looking forward to exploring these issues with my colleagues during the coming weeks of discussions,” says Brabec.

Assessing the links between culture, heritage and climate change responses will also serve as a catalyst for new research, projects, and publications on culture, heritage, and climate action in advance of the IPCC’s upcoming 7th Assessment cycle, and beyond.

Project partners include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI). The International Conference is primarily funded by The German Environmental Foundation with additional support from the Swiss Federal Office of Culture and The National Cultural Heritage Administration of China.