Changes in Preservation Policy Needed in Era of Climate Change

Researchers at NC State’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management contend landmarks facing climate threats could transform. They also believe that decisions about how important landmarks can and should change need to be guided by the values of descendants of people and cultures that those sites were originally intended to highlight and preserve.
Dr. Erin Seekamp is first author of Resilience and transformation of heritage sites to accommodate for loss and learning in a changing climate.
“Individuals whose heritage is at stake, and who receive benefits from those places as tourist sites, should be part of the discussions about change, and about what preserving values connected with sites should look like,” says Seekamp.
The paper was published in Climatic Change. The study was completed during Seekamp’s sabbatical when she served as a 2019 research fellow at ICCROM.