Theme
Since 2005, UNESCO has been challenging cultural heritage organizations to take account of global climate change in their conservation mission as well as their methods. In particular, UNESCO has encouraged such organizations to work more closely with ecological organizations and also to assume a greater level of activism toward the public.
These recommendations dovetail with the accepted international approach to involve the community in a sustainable heritage conservation and presentation policy as they are formulated in guidelines and charters such as the Faro Convention of the Council of Europe or the ICOMOS Ename Charter.
What is not clear however, is how the issue of Global Climate Change affects the wider contexts and settings that are part of a long-term heritage conservation programme or the public awareness and engagement regarding heritage. Some organizations may find their level of effectiveness reduced as they attempt to take on tasks that lie beyond their expertise. Others will find new forms of public engagement and garner greater public support for their work.
While the impacts of Global Climate Change are several, this three-day colloquium will focus on those of immediate and obvious significance to the Low Countries, namely rising sea levels and increased river flooding. Papers presented will provide comparative experiences from diverse nations in all the world’s regions that are subject to these threats as they impact cultural heritage. It is understood that cultural heritage here refers not simply to monumental sites or cultural landscapes, but also to the intangible heritage that is so much at risk. Among the questions to be asked are the following:
- What have been the experiences with cultural sites or landscapes in diverse settings with rising sea levels and/or river flooding?
- What have been the responses of cultural heritage organizations and how have they coordinated with other organizations active in the defense or relief effort?
- Can heritage conservation and interpretation programmes learn from ecological approaches and vice versa or is there a danger that cultural heritage preservation will become subsumed by the attention given to ecological conservation?
- In what way does Global Climate Change alter heritage conservation programmes or how does it affect the interpretation and presentation of cultural heritage sites?
- How can cultural heritage professionals respond pro-actively to the global threat of climate change?
- What does it mean for heritage organizations to engage in broader social advocacy in the light of Global Climate Change?
- Is Global Climate Change only a threat for heritage conservation policies or does it also provide new opportunities?
We are therefore seeking innovative contributions from heritage administrators, archaeologists, historians, cultural economists, educators, cultural policy specialists and practitioners under the following four topics:
- Actual Site Impacts and Predictions due to Global Climate Change
- Attitudes and Responses from heritage organizations towards Global Climate Change
- Climate Change, Cultural Tourism, and Development
- Widening Public Engagement and Forging Organizational Alliances
Program
Wednesday 18 March : Gent
Program
9h00-9h30
Registration
Welcome speech and opening
Province East-Flanders
Introduction
Ename Expertisecentrum voor Erfgoedontsluiting
10h00-12h00
Plenary Session 1
Climates of Heritage Conservation:
"Past, Present and Future Perspectives on Climate Change and Cultural Heritage" (MAY CASSAR, Director, Centre for Sustainable Heritage, University College London)
"Cultural Heritage and Climate Change: The Social Dimension" (DIANE BARTHEL-BOUCHIER, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY)
"Managing the physical quality of buried archaeological sites in the frame work of changing climate conditions" (MARTINE M. VAN DEN BERG, ADRIAAN M.J. DE KRAKER, MICHEL VORENHOUT. University Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
12h00-13h30
Lunch
13h30-14h15
Plenary Session 2
"Genth, key node for the water management in Flanders" (FERNANDO PEREIRA, Waterbouwkundig Laboratorium, Belgium)
14h15-14h30
Coffee Break
14h30-17h00
Excursion Ghent:
"Barrages and Dams in Medieval Ghent: a precarious equilibrium"
The town of Gent originated around the confluence of two rivers (Leie and Schelde). From very early on, a delicate system of barrages and dams was constructed, changing the natural watercourses in a radical way. It allowed Gent to develop to one of the most powerful towns during the Middle Ages. During the walk, we will show and explain the fragile complexity of this water management system and provide a new hypothesis concerning the location of the confluence.
The excursion will be guided by FRANK GELAUDE, Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen
17h30-19h00
Openingreception
(offered by the Province of East-Flanders)
Welcome by Jozef Dauwe,
Deputy of culture of the Province of East Flanders
Thursday 19 March : Ostend
Program
09h00
Transfer from Ghent to Ostend + registration
10h00
Introduction by the partners Vliz and VIOE
10h30-12h00
Plenary Session
The impact of Global Climate Change in the Low Countries:
"The coastal landscape of Flanders: dealing with the rising tides between the formation, the preservation and the future of a medieval landscape." (DRIES TYS, Free University Brussels)
"Impact of Climate change on Flemish built heritage and actions required from the heritage sector and authorities." (NATHALIE VERNIMME, Flemish Heritage Institute)
"Object Saved, Landscape Lost? A model for evaluating and mitigating the effects of climate change on the dykes of the Netherlands." (GERHARDMARK VAN DER WAAL, Stichting Dorp, Stad & Land)
12h00-13h30
Lunch
13h30-15h00
Parallel Workshop 1
Climate Change and Flemish cultural landscapes:
"Impact of past climate changes on the river Scheldt."(FRIEDA BOGEMANS & ANNELIES STORME. Flemish Heritage Institute)
"High tides and low sites: the effect of floodplain creation on the archaeological and cultural heritage in the ‘Wijmeersen 2’ area (lower Scheldt basin)." (ERWIN MEYLEMANS, YVES PERDAEN, INGE VERDURMEN. Flemish Heritage Institute)
"Flood safety and cultural landscapes, a contradiction or not?" (AUKJE DE HAAN, INGE VERDURMEN. Flemish Heritage Institute)
"Climate Change and Landscape and Heritage in Flanders (Belgium) - a spatial planning strategic research project." (GEORGES ALLAERT, MARC ANTROP, HANS LEINFELDER, VEERLE VAN EETVELDE & BJORN VERHOFSTEDE. Ghent University, Belgium)
Parallel Workshop 2
Managing the vulnerability of archaeological sites:
"Climate changes and the vulnerability of the cultural heritage – a Swedish pilot project." (STEFAN NILSSON, EVA SVENSSON, LARS NYBERG, MONICA FJAESTAD. Cultural Landscape Constultant; Karlstad University, Sweden; Swedish National Board of Antiquities)
"Will Climate Change lead to the destruction of Skara Brae? " (JULIE GIBSON. County Archaeologist Orkney Islands Council and Lecturer in Archaeology for Orkney College, University of the Highlands and Islands)
"Maps for the climate changing impact on heritage conservation." (BONAZZA A., BRIMBLECOMBE P., GROSSI C. M., SABBIONI C. National Research Council, Bologna, Italy and University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK)
"The Frozen Tombs of the Altay Mountains, Climate Change and Tourism: Mapping the Archaeological Heritage of Altay." (WOUTER GHEYLE, JEAN BOURGEOIS, RUDI GOOSSENS & ALAIN DE WULF. Ghent University, Belgium)
Parallel Workshop 3
Sea Level change, flooding and Heritage Preservation:
"Transitional environments and heritage protection: a decisional roadmap for the Saracen towers in the Amalfi coast " (SERENA VIOLA, DONATELLA DIANO, TERESA NAPOLETANO, CLAUDIA CIOCIA. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
"Incidences of pluviosity increase in the preservation of Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas - Word Heritage." (MELINA NAVA HUNG. Universidad Central de Venezuela)
"An Impact of River Flooding on Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Case Study of the Historic City of Ayutthaya." (KRIENGKRAI WATANASAWAD. Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand)
"Threat of destruction of a coastal infrastructure and historical landscapes of Baku as a result of change of Caspian sea level." (SHAHLA KAHRAMANOVA; BABAYEV SHEHALI. National Academy of Science, Azerbaijan and Azebaijan Architecture and Construction University)
15h00-15h30
Coffee break
15h30-17h30
Excursion Belgian coast
"Coastal heritage under threat of the sea"
(TOM LENAERT & GLENN GEVAERT)
From the colloquium venue which is located in the harbour of Oostende we will take the participants for an exclusive excursion along the Belgian coast. The relationship between the rich and diverse heritage recourses – which include amongs others military infrastructures from different periods, a drawned medieval village, maritime infrastructures or exclusive villa’s on coastal promenades – will be highlighted from the perspective of their threatened location near the Belgian coast. Some of the locations that we will visit are not open to the public.
18h30-22h00
Conference Diner in "Fort Napoleon" (optional)
The Conference diner will be organised in the historical setting of “Napoleon’s Fortification”. This vestige is hidden in the dunes of the Belgian coast near Oostende and is only a few meters away from the sea. It was constructed by the French under Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign. From 1995 till 2000 the site got restored by Heritage Flanders. It is now open to the public and is used as a restaurant.
22h00
Transfer from Ostend to Ghent
Friday 20 March: Ostend
Program
9h00
Transfer from Ghent to Ostend + registration
10h00-12h00
Plenary Session:
"Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and Climate Change: Preserving and Learning from the Past in a Warmer Future." (MICHELLE BERENFELD. Visiting Assistant Professor of Archaeology, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University. Consultant, World Monument Fund)
"ICOMOS Scientific Council Initiative: Global Climate Change and Cultural Heritage." (PAMELA JEROME. AIA, LEED® AP; ICOMOS Scientific Council Coordinator)
"Climate Change and Social Adaptation: how the past can inform the future." (DIANE L. DOUGLAS. Statistical Research Inc., USA)
12h00-13h30
Lunch
13h30-15h00
Parallel Workshop 1:
Planning for Global Climate Change effects on Cultural Heritage
"After the Flood: reconstructing Hadhrami villages in Yemen." (PAMELA JEROME. AIA, LEED® AP; ICOMOS Scientific Council Coordinator)
"Cultural Emergencies: Responding to climate-change related disasters." (ELÉONORE DE MERODE. Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, The Netherlands)
"Living Heritage Sites and Climate Change - the reactions of parks and gardens within the European Garden Heritage Network." (CHRISTIAN GRUESSEN. European Garden Heritage Network, Germany)
"Cultural Heritage: Protection and/or Survival." (JAMES WHITE. Postgraduate Research student at the Edinburgh College of Art, UK)
Parallel Workshop 2
Energy efficiency, renewable recourses and new materials: strategies for the future
"Replacement of materials: many sides of a strategy." (PAULA MACIEL SILVA AND SILVIO ZANCHETTI. Catholic University of Pernambuco, Brazil)
"Restoration Montevideo warehouses – striking example of ecological restoration." (WOUTER CALLEBAUT. Callebaut Architecten, Belgium)
"Climate Change and the Cultural Environment - Recognized Impacts and Challenges in Finland." (MINNA PESU. National Board of Antiquities, Finland)
"Prince Charles may go virtual, Regional Gastronomy creates new opportunities!" (DIRK BRENTJENS. Academy of Regional Gastronomy, Belgium)
15h00-15h30
Coffee Break
15h30-17h00
Parallel Workshop 1
Models for Heritage Management against the background of Global Climate Change:
"The History of Forgetting: Towards Heritage as Ecology." (BENJAMIN MORRIS. University of Cambridge, UK)
"Swedish Heritage management." (NATALIYA HULUSJÖ. Swedish National Heritage Board )
"Analysing the Vulnerability of World Heritage to Climate Change, a case study of Bru na Boinne, Ireland." (CATHY DALY. Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany)
"Planning for the Developpement of Regi Lagni A Borbonic Age Site in Campania Region: the canal, the lake, and the urban waterfront." (CAROLINA COLLARO. Nova Gorica University and IUAV Venice University)
Parallel Workshop 2
Heritage Conservation, Public Engagement and Social Innovation:
"Landscape Use and Climate Change Presented to the Public." (JOLANDA BOS. The ReCollective, The Netherlands)
"The opinion and action of the NGO against the global climate changes that are related with cultural heritage in Turkey." (AYDıN UÇAR & ESER GULTEKIN. Akdeniz University, Turkey)
"The Dutch role in the presentation of climate change and human response." (SIGRID M. VAN ROODE, Past2Present/the ReCollective, The Netherlands)
"The Great Challenge: Energy Suplly by Hydroelectric Power Plants or Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge Heritages." (ELIZABETH FERREIRA DA SILVA; PATRÍCIA PEREIRA PERALTA. Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial, Brazil)
17h00-18h30
Reception offered by the VLIZ
18h30
Transfer from Ostend to Ghent
