The destruction of cultural heritage in armed conflicts has become more and more prevalent in the past few decades, as shown by sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The proliferation of this destructive trend is correlated with the changing nature of armed conflicts, where cultural heritage is intentionally targeted due to its link with cultural identity.
Culture and Sustainability
Cultural heritage comes from both the tangible and intangible values and traditions of communities, such as certain places, music, craftsmanship techniques, and more. It gives people a sense of identity and belonging, which is essential for social sustainability; the ability of a community to develop processes and structures that meet the needs of its current members, and support the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community.
The degradation and destruction of cultural heritage — whether tangible or intangible — constitutes a loss to the affected communities, as well as to the international community as a whole
– 2021 Policy on Cultural Heritage, ICC
Organizations in Action
Many International organizations, such as ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), ALIPH (International alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas), and ICROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), make it their duty to help, protect, preserve, and record heritage places across the globe. Whether it be through proactively protecting sites and monuments from the impeding environmental threat or ensuring their survival when faced with armed conflict and mass destruction. These groups include many initiatives at both a local and global level and provide funding, assistance, and training to protect and preserve cultural heritage among other initiatives.
ICOMOS offers a Heritage@Risk program, which identifies threatened heritage places, presents typical case studies and trends, and shares suggestions for solving individual or global threats to cultural heritage. They are also committed to meet the Paris Agreement among other important climate initiatives.
ALIPH works to meet the challenge of protecting cultural heritage in conflict and post conflict areas through preventive protection, emergency measures, and post-conflict actions, to enable local populations to once again enjoy their cultural heritage.
ICCROM is dedicated to raising awareness and support for conservation and restoration at all levels and provides technical assistance to its Member States through sharing teaching materials, information, workshops and training opportunities. Most recently, the organization translated toolkits such as Endangered Heritage: Emergency Evacuation of Heritage Collections for Ukrainian partners.
A Movement Towards Social Resiliency
Creating social resilience in times of crises is vital to maintaining healthy communities and in ensuring the protection of cultural heritage for present and future generations. MTBA is committed to ensuring that social resiliency and responsibility are highlighted as part of sustainable development goals. Thus, the new edition of Building Resilience will include an expanded definition of resiliency to include people and the planet combined. As resiliency can be found not just in the environment but also in the knowledge and traditions of the people who occupy it.
