WORKING SESSION
Resilient Cultural Heritage
Brief & Concept Note
Brief
1. Why is this topic important
Historic cities, cultural landscapes, monuments, archaeological sites, museums, artistic
handcrafts, and cultural activities are increasingly affected by threats both natural and
human-made. The progressive loss of these elements as a result of floods, landslides, storms,
fire, earthquakes, the effects of climate change, civil unrest and other hazards has become a
major concern, because the conservation of heritage, and of the cultural diversity that it
embodies, contributes to sustainable development, including by supporting local economy,
and stable societies.
At the same time, cultural heritage (including tangible and intangible, moveable and
immovable) is increasingly recognized as a driver of resilience that can support efforts to
reduce disaster risks more broadly. In the same way that biological diversity increases the
resilience of natural systems, cultural diversity has the capacity to increase the resilience of
social systems since it is the result of centuries of slow adaptation to the hazards that affect
local environments.
The maintenance of cultural diversity into the future, and the knowledge, innovations and
outlooks it contains, thus, increase the capacity of human systems to adapt to and cope with
change.
2. What gaps need to be filled?
The level of preparedness for all types of cultural heritage in regard to disaster risks is still
very low in all regions of the world, yet heritage could potentially constitute a major resource
on which to found sustainable social development, economic growth, and community
resilience.
Heritage is often not integrated in general disaster risk management strategies and plans, and
usually not reflected in global statistics concerning disaster risks.
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3. What (new) commitments are expected?
[Capacity Building] The partners (UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, ACA, and NICH), along with
other institutions such as Ritsumeikan University commit to pursuing capacity building
programmes to enhance the ability of communities, decision-makers, and professionals to
ensure that cultural heritage concerns are an integral part in improving resilience.
[Networking] The partners commit to supporting the linking of heritage and emergency
response/recovery/humanitarian networks at national, regional, and international levels.
Particular attention could be paid to the Blue Shield network, and NICP may commit to
pursuing a Japanese national committee of the Blue Shield to promote better DRM for
cultural heritage
[Assessment] The partners commit to working with EU/UNDP/WB/UNESCO to promote the
application of the new tool for integrating culture in the PDNA assessment process.
[Funding] The partners commit to exploring collaborations with private and public
foundations and governments, and to establish a system to raise funds to improve the
integration of heritage concerns in resilience.
[Technical cooperation] The partners commit to developing a variety of resource materials
including a manual and/or handbook on CH-DRM for resilient communities, by updating and
enhancing the existing “Managing Disaster Risk for World Heritage” published by UNESCO,
ICCROM, ICOMOS, and IUCN.
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Concept Note
Schedule
Sunday 15 March 2015, 14:00-15:30
Room and Venue
Exhibition Hall 1, Sendai International Conference Centre
Organizing Team
UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, JAPANESE AGENCY FOR CULTURAL
AFFAIRS (ACA), JAPANESE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE (NICH)
UNISDR Focal Point
Jerry Velasquez (velasquezg@un.org); Glenn Dolcemascolo
(dolcemascolo@un.org)
Background and
Rationale
There is an increasing recognition of the fact that disaster risk
reduction is only one aspect of a larger agenda that includes also
climate change and sustainable development, as many of their
driving factors and strategies for action are closely related. The
ongoing review of the 2hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) has
demonstrated how considerable progress was achieved in the past
10 years, but, there are also areas where much remains to be done,
notably in relation to reducing underlying risk factors and tackling
the causes of risk creation. One important element in reducing
risk is an attention to the cultural heritage and cultural practices of
communities.
It is necessary to explore ways to better connect heritage to the
disaster risk reduction agenda and provide a strategic framework
that ensures a heritage sensitive approach which strengthens
disaster risk reduction effectiveness in general. Conserving
heritage, natural and cultural, tangible and intangible, movable and
immovable, can be a holistic means of bringing together these
three key areas; disaster risk, climate change, and sustainable
development, to build more resilient communities.
Cultural heritage, whether tangible or intangible, is the result of
centuries of adaptation to the hazards that affect local
environments. There are deep links with traditional land use, local
history and identity, traditional construction technologies, and
other local knowledge systems which can help to provide necessary
information to both prevent the creation of new risks and reduce
existing risks for heritage. This knowledge can also help
communities prepare for and recover from disasters.
Loss of or damage to cultural heritage as a result of disasters has
become a major concern because the conservation of heritage and
of the cultural diversity that it embodies, contributes to sustainable
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development by supporting poverty alleviation, tourism
development, local economic revitalization, the stability of
communities and the preservation of identity for each local
community.
A culturally-sensitive approach to disaster risk reduction can play a
critical role in promoting resilient communities. Such an approach
needs to build on traditional knowledge and cultural practices
associated to the conservation of local ecosystems.
Applying a culturally-aware perspective to disaster risk reduction is
also the only way to secure the “full engagement and
empowerment of local communities, leaders, and administrators
and the respect of local and indigenous knowledge”.
Heritage also has a major potential in communication and
educational strategies to promote risk awareness and a culture of
prevention.
Discussion agenda
and structure
1. Introduction and welcoming remarks by one representative of
the organizers (5mns)
2. Short video (5mns)
3. Keynote Address: Why Cultural Heritage Matters: Its Value in
Preparing for Resilient Communities (10mns)
4. Panel discussion (60 mns [5 mns x 4 presentations + 40 mns
discussion])
- Understanding Cultural Heritage and Disaster Risk
- The contribution of cultural heritage to strengthening
governance to manage disaster risk
- The role of cultural heritage in preparing for response,
recovery and reconstruction
- Investing in social, cultural, economic, and environmental
resilience (a holistic approach to resilience)
Note: each speaker will be given 5 minutes followed by a targeted
question/discussion session led by a moderator and allowing also
for some questions from the audience.
5. Presentation of the recommendations developed at the
Preparatory Session in Tokyo (5 mns)
6. Wrap up and conclusion by the moderator (5 minutes)
Expected outcomes


The participants will understand the major significance of
heritage for societies, the great risks to which it is exposed and
the need to protect it from disasters;
The participants will understand the central role of heritage for
an integrated and viable strategy for reducing disaster risks,
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
Commitment /
special
announcement in
support of a post2015 framework for
DRR
adapting to climate change and contributing to sustainable
development. They will see how this can be done in practice
through concrete case studies and policy options that they
would be able to promote in their own environments;
Concise
and
compelling
policy
statements
and
recommendations will be presented, discussed, and agreed,
regarding the role of heritage in DRR.
UNESCO, ICCROM, and ICOMOS will work to forge commitments to
partner with UNISDR and the Rockefeller Foundation on integrating
heritage issues into city strategies for resilience, within the
framework of the ISDR’s Resilient Cities campaign.
UNESCO, ICCROM, and ICOMOS will work to forge commitments to
partner with the International Federation of the Red Cross and
other humanitarian organizations to integrate cultural
considerations within humanitarian interventions.
The partners will approach national and local governments to
obtain commitments to integrate heritage concerns in national and
local plans for disaster risk red
Expected number of
participants
200 – 300
Background
documents
Heritage and Resilience: Issues and Opportunities for Reducing
Disaster Risks. A publication of UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS-ICORP,
UNISDR, and Marsh International. Prepared for the Global
Platform 2013.
Strategy for Reducing Risks from Disasters at World Heritage
Properties. Strategy adopted by the World Heritage Committee at
its 31st session (Christchurch, New Zealand) in 2007.
Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage. A resource manual
produced by UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN.
ICCROM Programme on Disaster and Risk Management:
Background Paper. April 2013.
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A