JAUE2022-057: Research on the Impact of Climate Change on Cultural Heritage in Coastal Areas and Its Sustainable Development Path

Abstract

As the earth enters the crowded “Anthropocene”, the environment is gradually dominated by human behavior and the global climate has changed substantially, leading to a series of crises such as sea-level rise. The World Heritage Committee at its 29th session in 2005 recognized that the impacts of climate change are affecting many World Heritage properties at present and in the future. Cultural heritage in coastal areas is highly exposure and sensitive to climate change, facing direct physical damage and indirect consequences. Although a series of policy documents by international organizations have provided cultural heritage sites with guidance for adaptation and mitigation of climate change, coastal areas are still inadequate in addressing climate change uncertainty. In this context, studying the impact of climate change on cultural heritage in coastal areas is of great significance for formulating climate change adaptation policies and promoting sustainable development of heritage. The paper evaluates the impacts of climate change on world heritage sites in coastal areas, and it then reviews conservation policy documents of international organizations in response to the focused issue. Three strategies for adaptation to sea level rise proposed by IPCC and their suitability for cultural heritage are analyzed. The research concludes with a discussion of the sustainable development path for cultural heritage in coastal areas to facilitate adaptive capacity as well as safeguard the authenticity and integrity of cultural heritage in the coastal areas in the face of climate change