UNESCO vineyard cultural landscape and climate change’s resilient adaptation

Abstract

Viticulture has been particularly sensitive to climate changes throughout human history, building cultural landscapes of extraordinary beauty and highly adaptative to changes. But today, due to anthropogenic contribution, climate change is and will affect traditional vineyard cultural landscapes too, particularly those spread around the Mediterranean basin. The present acceleration to change and the need to adapt, is also challenging UNESCO and its advisory bodies positions, policies and conservation practices. In this shifting theoretical and operational framework, UNESCO vineyard cultural landscape have been investigated to understand the present on-field approach to climate adaptation. Particularly, it appears interesting the case study of UNESCO Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene that makes explicitly reference in its Management Plan to climate change as a threat. Through the identified case study and the advances in climate cultural heritage discourse, the contribution intends to open a reflection on UNESCO vineyard cultural landscapes’ adaptation to climate change, identifying some guidelines that could inform future adaptation process. At the end, an ongoing methodological experimentation of people-centered cultural mapping for adaptation project inside the Hills of Prosecco will be presented, stressing the urgency for more research on UNESCO vineyard cultural landscape.

Keywords

• vineyard cultural landscape
• cultural heritage
• climate change
• adaptation
• unesco