Effects of climate change on open air heritage: a review and the situation in the region of Mediterranean

Abstract

Abstract This paper collects research information and registered data regarding the relationship between climate change and heritage, aiming to present a comprehensive state of studies and research on the subject. This relationship between these two cores is basically the main subject of this research, as well as the discovery of the areas with little information. Nowadays, there is a remarkable increase in the concern of the damage of cultural heritage and the research of methods and means of protection and of interpretation of its value. In the meanwhile, climate change is the other pillar of this paper, with evident damage, eminent jeopardy and accumulative downgrade of heritage assets. The aforementioned facts create a threatening background for the safeguarding of cultural and natural heritage and the transmission to the next generations. In general, stakeholders should focus on the mitigation of the human causes of climate change and the necessary adaptation to the climatic conditions for heritage protection. Through the collection of data, this paper presents the region of Mediterranean, as it has a strategic geographic location and the climatic conditions have already shown notable deviations. The presented information relates to the indices and measurements of the effects of climate change and the overall assessment of the risks of heritage, the irreversible impairment, the most common cultural aspects of the studies and the urgent need of protection. The scope of these data is the design of the appropriate management plan, taking into account the unique identity of each piece of heritage and its environment. To sum up, the kinds of heritage incorporated into the environment structuring a completed landscape with immediate exposure to the conditions, seem to lack the essential research for their preservation. For this reason, the adequate management of cultural and natural heritage in jeopardy, such as the cases in the Mediterranean region, require multidisciplinary assessment for heritage management.

Keywords

• Natural and cultural heritage
• Climate change
• Mitigation
• Adaptation
• Management plan