Adapting cultural heritage to climate change impacts in the Netherlands: barriers, interdependencies, and strategies for overcoming them

Abstract Climate change is currently impacting cultural heritage globally. Despite advances in the understanding of the relationship between climate change impacts and cultural heritage, there are significant barriers that hamper adaptation of cultural heritage to current and projected climate risks. This paper aims to advance the empirical understanding of barriers to adapting cultural heritage to climate-related impacts in the Netherlands by identifying different barriers, their interdependencies, and possible strategies to overcome these barriers. Using a web-based questionnaire with 57 experts, we find that the most frequently reported barriers are a lack of climate change adaptation policy for cultural heritage, and lack of climate vulnerability and risk assessments for diverse cultural heritage types. Our study finds that barriers are perceived to be interdependent and conjointly constrain adapting cultural heritage to climate change. Six actionable strategies are identified to navigate these barriers.

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The Awareness of and Input into Cultural Heritage Preservation by Urban Planners and Other Municipal Actors in Light of Climate Change

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12060726 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 726

Author(s):

Paul Carroll ◽

Eeva Aarrevaara

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Town Planning ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Heritage Preservation ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

The Future ◽

Cultural Heritage Preservation

Future climate conditions need to be considered in planning for urban areas. As well as considering how new structures would best endure in the future, it is important to take into account factors that contribute to the degradation of cultural heritage buildings in the urban setting. Climate change can cause an increase in structural degradation. In this paper, a review of both what these factors are and how they are addressed by urban planners is presented. A series of inquiries into the topic was carried out on town planning personnel and those involved in cultural heritage preservation in several towns and cities in Finland and in a small number of other European countries. The target group members were asked about observed climate change impacts on cultural heritage, about present steps being taken to protect urban cultural heritage, and also their views were obtained on how climate change impacts will be emphasised in the future in this regard. The results of the inquiry demonstrate that climate change is still considered only in a limited way in urban planning, and more interaction between different bodies, both planning and heritage authorities, as well as current research on climate change impacts, is needed in the field.

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The Effect of Climate Change on the Health of Aged People in Ibadan, Nigeria

UNIOSUN Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences ◽

10.36108/ujees/0202.20.0241 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

O. J. Kehinde ◽

A. T. Adeboyejo

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Climatic Parameters ◽

Data Set ◽

Aged People ◽

Improvement Programs ◽

The Relationship ◽

Component Scores ◽

Ibadan Nigeria

Susceptibility to ill health among aged people had been linked with climate change impacts in rapidly urbanising cities. Therefore, this study evaluates to the vulnerability of aged people to the health impacts of climate change in Ibadan, Nigeria. Data on clinically diagnosed climate related diseases (CRDs) (2000 – 2014) among aged people (>50 years) and temperature and rainfall parameters (1970 – 2007) in Ibadan were obtained and projected to year 2050. Also, the relationship between the climatic parameters and incidence of the five most prevalent CRDs were analysed using multiple regression. The increasing trend of mean maximum temperature (r = 0.47) and rainfall (r = 0.15) is associated with incidences of hypertension (34.4%), respiratory diseases (21.2%) and diarrhoea (14.3%) among aged people (> 60 years), mostly male folk (67.2%). The linear composite of disease communalities extracted 84.0% variance of the data set with the following component scores: skin disease (0.98), hypertension (0.96), respiratory disease (0.92), diarrhoea (0.89) and malaria (0.45). Further, CRDs (R2 = 27%, p = 0.012) in Ibadan among aged people could be significantly attributed to influences of climatic parameters. The study suggests building aged peoples’ resilience to emanating impacts through health and nutritional improvement programs, and re-introduction of neighbourhood parks and gardens.

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The perceived psychological distance of climate change impacts and its influence on support for adaptation policy

Environmental Science & Policy ◽

10.1016/j.envsci.2017.04.011 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 93-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Ajay S. Singh ◽

Adam Zwickle ◽

Jeremy T. Bruskotter ◽

Robyn Wilson

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Psychological Distance ◽

Adaptation Policy

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Targeting adaptation to safeguard sustainable development against climate-change impacts

10.21203/rs.3.rs-235355/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lena Fuldauer ◽

Scott Thacker ◽

Robyn Haggis ◽

Francesco Fuso Nerini ◽

Robert Nicholls ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sustainable Development ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Global Priority ◽

Climate Action ◽

Development Goals ◽

Systems Framework ◽

The Relationship

Abstract The international community has committed to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and to enhance climate action under the Paris Agreement. Yet achievement of the SDGs is already threatened by climate-change impacts. Here we show that further adaptation this decade is urgently required to safeguard 68% of SDG targets against acute and chronic threats from climate change. We analyse how the relationship between SDG targets and climate-change impacts is mediated by ecosystems and socio-economic sectors, which provides a framework for targeting adaptation. Adaptation of wetlands, rivers, cropland, construction, water, electricity and housing in the most vulnerable countries should be a global priority to safeguard sustainable development by 2030. We have applied our systems framework at the national scale in Saint Lucia and Ghana, which is helping to align National Adaptation Plans with the SDGs, thus ensuring that adaptation is contributing to, rather than detracting from, sustainable development.

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Adapting Cultural Heritage to Climate Change Risks: Perspectives of Cultural Heritage Experts in Europe

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences8080305 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 305 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Elena Sesana ◽

Alexandre Gagnon ◽

Chiara Bertolin ◽

John Hughes

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Best Practice ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Participatory Workshop ◽

Climate Change Risks ◽

The Uk

Changes in rainfall patterns, humidity, and temperature, as well as greater exposure to severe weather events, has led to the need for adapting cultural heritage to climate change. However, there is limited research accomplished to date on the process of adaptation of cultural heritage to climate change. This paper examines the perceptions of experts involved in the management and preservation of cultural heritage on adaptation to climate change risks. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from the UK, Italy, and Norway as well as a participatory workshop with stakeholders. The results indicate that the majority of interviewees believe that adaptation of cultural heritage to climate change is possible. Opportunities for, barriers to, and requirements for adapting cultural heritage to climate change, as perceived by the interviewees, provided a better understanding of what needs to be provided and prioritized for adaptation to take place and in its strategic planning. Knowledge of management methodologies incorporating climate change impacts by the interviewees together with best practice examples in adapting cultural heritage to climate change are also reported. Finally, the interviewees identified the determinant factors for the implementation of climate change adaptation. This paper highlights the need for more research on this topic and the identification and dissemination of practical solutions and tools for the incorporation of climate change adaptation in the preservation and management of cultural heritage.

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Climate change impacts on aflatoxin B1 in maize and aflatoxin M1 in milk: A case study of maize grown in Eastern Europe and imported to the Netherlands

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0218956 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. e0218956 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

H. J. Van der Fels-Klerx ◽

L. C. Vermeulen ◽

A. K. Gavai ◽

C. Liu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Aflatoxin B1 ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Aflatoxin M1

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Co-producing UK climate change adaptation policy: An analysis of the 2012 and 2017 UK Climate Change Risk Assessments

Environmental Science & Policy ◽

10.1016/j.envsci.2018.09.010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 89 ◽

pp. 412-420 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

C. Howarth ◽

S. Morse-Jones ◽

K. Brooks ◽

A.P. Kythreotis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Risk Assessments ◽

Adaptation Policy ◽

Climate Change Risk ◽

Climate Change Adaptation Policy

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Targeting attention on local vulnerabilities using an integrated index approach: the example of the climate vulnerability index

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2005.0111 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 51 (5) ◽

pp. 69-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 110

Author(s):

C. Sullivan ◽

J. Meigh

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Vulnerability Index ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Human Populations ◽

Mass Migration ◽

Indicator Approach ◽

Index Approach ◽

Climate Vulnerability ◽

Climate Vulnerability Index

It is known that climate impacts can have significant effects on the environment, societies and economies. For human populations, climate change impacts can be devastating, giving rise to economic disruption and mass migration as agricultural systems fail, either through drought or floods. Such events impact significantly, not only where they happen, but also in the neighbouring areas. Vulnerability to the impacts of climate change needs to be assessed, so that adaptation strategies can be developed and populations can be protected. In this paper, we address the issue of vulnerability assessment through the use of an indicator approach, the climate vulnerability index (CVI). We show how this can overcome some of the difficulties of incommensurability associated with the combination of different types of data, and how the approach can be applied at a variety of scales. Through the development of nested index values, more reliable and robust coverage of large areas can be achieved, and we provide an indication of how this could be done. While further work is required to improve the methodology through wider application and component refinement, it seems likely that this approach will have useful application in the assessment of climate vulnerability. Through its application at sub-national and community scales, the CVI can help to identify those human populations most at risk from climate change impacts, and as a result, resources can be targeted towards those most in need.

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