A workshop - jointly organised by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy),
the Section on Earth Sciences and Geo-Hazards Risk Reduction, Natural Sciences Sector of UNESCO, and the Maltese National Commission for UNESCO - will bring together heritage professionals,
site managers and emergency responders from South-East European and Mediterranean countries
on
14-19 November 2015 in the City of Valletta, inscribed on the World
Heritage List in 1980. Participants from Albania, Cyprus, Greece, Malta
and Turkey will gather in the
Campus of the University of Malta and will be
introduced to disaster risk reduction principles to be incorporated in
management plans for World Heritage sites and other cultural heritage
sites.
Natural
hazards, including the effects of climate change, are increasingly
impacting people’s lives and our shared heritage – eliciting
concern from international to local communities. Disasters do happen,
and while many cannot be avoided, preparatory measures can mitigate or
effectively reduce their impact. Furthermore, investing in risk
preparedness can help to avoid high expenditure in
the response and post-disaster recovery stage.
Experience
shows that the heritage itself can contribute to reducing the effects
of disasters in various ways. Traditional knowledge
systems, in the form of physical planning and construction, can be
useful for mitigation purposes, as can local management systems and
ecological solutions, which prevent or mitigate the impact of disasters
and provide sufficient coping mechanisms to deal
with post-disaster situations. Cultural properties can also serve as
safe havens for surrounding communities for their temporary relocation
during emergencies, as well as a community’s focal point during their
recovery.
In 2007,
the World Heritage Committee adopted a ‘Strategy for Reducing Risks
from Disasters at World Heritage Properties’ which encourages
all State Parties to develop disaster risk management plans for the
World Heritage properties in their respective countries. The new
internationally endorsed ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
2015-2030’ also clearly highlights the importance of
reducing disaster risk in cultural heritage sites.
With this in mind,
the
workshop in Malta will adopt a participatory methodology and a special
focus will be placed on risk preparedness for geohazards, specifically
landslides,
earthquakes,
wild fires and floods, as well as structural fires, with the
participation of an interdisciplinary team
of highly qualified international experts and trainees from World
Heritage sites’ management and emergency responders. The aim will be to
raise awareness amongst professionals and responsible agencies of the
need to develop appropriate and tailored disaster
management plans and to build capacities in the development of
appropriate risk management mechanisms in cultural sites of the
South-East European and Mediterranean areas.
The
workshop will contribute to mainstreaming disaster risk management
principles in the management systems of World Heritage sites in
South-East Europe Mediterranean countries. Two World Heritage sites of Malta -
City of Valletta and
Megalithic Temples of Malta
- will be used as learning cases to serve the entire region.
Heritage
professionals from Malta and countries of the South-East European and
Mediterranean area will be provided with knowledge on
current thinking, methods and tools available to identify, assess and
manage multiple natural-derived hazards and risks and learn about
preparatory measures to mitigate their material and human impact. The
workshop will close with a final
presentation developed during the workshop by the trainees at the Italian Cultural Institute in Valletta.
The workshop will involve specialists from: UNESCO;
Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection,
CNR-IRPI; Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences,
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,
UNIMORE;
UNESCO Chair at the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural
Heritage, Ritsumeikan University (ICOMOS/ICORP); Marrion Fire &
Risk Consulting;
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, CNR-ISAC; Department of Geosciences, University of Malta.
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http://www.unesco.org/new/en/
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/
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