Intangible cultural heritage: a benefit to climate-displaced and host communities

Abstract

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues of discrimination, conflict, and security. As the number of climate-displaced populations grows, the generations-deep connection to their rituals, customs, and ancestral ties with the land, cultural practices, and intangible cultural heritage become endangered. However, intangible heritage is often overlooked in the context of climate displacement. This paper presents reflections based on observations regarding the intangible heritage of voluntarily displaced communities. It begins by examining intangible heritage under the threat of climate displacement, with place-based examples. It then reveals intangible heritage as a catalyst to building resilient communities by advocating for the cultural values of indigenous and all people in climate action planning. It concludes the discussion by presenting the implications of climate displacement in existing intangible heritage initiatives. This article seeks to contribute to the emerging policies of preserving intangible heritage in the context of climate displacement.

Cultural Landscapes under the Threat of Climate Change: A Systematic Study of Barriers to Resilience

“…Cultural landscapes evolved in a certain climate, and now climate change is impacting and transforming them [17][18][19]. Cultural landscapes are not only vulnerable to the direct impacts of climate change, e.g., degradation of biodiversity and ecosystems, water scarcity, and erosion of lands, but also to the indirect consequences [20], including the loss of agricultural activities, displacement [17], loss of intangible values [21,22], and decrease in the number of visitors [23]. Although the impacts of climate change have been recognized as a threat to cultural heritage by academics [24][25][26][27][28], the extent and scale of specific challenges of climate change on cultural landscapes have yet to be discovered.…”

A call for the library community to deploy best practices toward a database for biocultural knowledge relating to climate change

“…, 2013). Recognizing and supporting the values reflected in intangible cultural heritage has potential for adaptation planning, mitigation, migration and climate resettlement (Aktürk and Lerski, 2021).…”

Impact of climate change-induced natural disasters on intangible cultural heritage related to food: a review

“…As the number of displaced populations grows, the community's deep-rooted connection to their rituals, customs ancestral ties with the land as well as their cultural practices and any other intangible cultural heritage also become endangered. Loss of physical landscapes and the indigenous fauna and flora (GIs) results in discontinuation of cultural knowledge, traditions, customary as well as folkloric practices [72]. Since ICH is associated with landscapes, sense of place, attachment, and identity, it can be an integral component of climate adaptation planning [27].…”

“…Over the past years, climate change has resulted in an increase in natural disasters impacting both developed and developing countries [1]. More frequent and extreme climate-induced natural disasters might cause further stress to already vulnerable livelihoods by affecting both tangible and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) assets like historical buildings, monuments, archeological sites, oral traditions, performances, and food systems [2]. These assets are important because they give local populations a sense of identity and well-being [3].…”