Abstract
Climate change and its associated impacts such as extreme heat, flooding and rising sea level, pose immense threat to cultural heritage including artefacts, built heritage, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes. The changes and variabilities of climate are driven by human activities such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other lifestyle choices such as excessive consumption of electricity and food waste. In the context of cultural heritage, retrofitting historic buildings contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emission. The study, therefore, examines the impacts of climate risks affecting protection of values and attributes of cultural heritage in Lagos (Nigeria), a key socio-economic city in Africa with high vulnerability to climate change impact. A city-wide vulnerability assessment was conducted to understand the key climate drivers affecting the cultural heritage located around the city. Eighteen key stakeholders were interviewed to understand perceptions of the values and interventions implemented to address the impacts of climate change. The findings reveal while awareness about climate change is increasing, skill capacity about assessing climate vulnerability is weak. Members of local communities are, also, excluded in planning and implementation of climate policy resulting into dwindling sense of ownership of deteriorating heritage sites. The study, further, demonstrates that combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches, stimulated by non-government organisations, professional bodies and community groups could improve protection of cultural heritage, implementation of climate-friendly interventions and mitigation of loss of heritage across communities.
Presenters
Olufemi AdetunjiNewton International Fellow, School of Humanities and Heritage, University of Lincoln, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Assessing Impacts in Diverse Ecosystems
KEYWORDS
Heritage Loss, Climate Adaptation, Community, Climate Policy, Nigeria
