Call for Applications: 2nd Training Workshop on Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia – Understanding People, Nature, Culture: Heritage Management for Building Resilience of Living Settlements

The Southeast Asian region is home to invaluable and significant forms of cultural heritage, ranging from the tangible, such as collections of antiques and objects, ancient monuments, archaeological sites, historic buildings, towns, cities and cultural landscapes, to the intangible, such as customs, relics, music, craftsmanship and traditional lifestyles. In recent years, unpredictable disasters caused by natural hazards, such as flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires and tropical storms have affected the region’s cultural heritage. Human actions such as tourism, economic development and urban expansion are also making a dramatic impact on heritage. These hazards can affect heritage at various levels, both locally and regionally. Whether natural or human-induced, disasters affect the physical condition and intangible aspects of heritage. As a result, intervention and action are needed to help protect the region’s heritage. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to restore heritage to its original state, and sometimes the damage is irreversible. Therefore disaster risk management in regards to cultural heritage is urgently needed.

The workshop is part of three training workshops included in SEAMEO SPAFA’s 7^th Five-Year Development Plan. The first workshop was conducted in Myanmar, 2018, under the theme ‘post-disaster recovery for the living urban archaeological complex. The second will be held in Brunei Darussalam, 2020, ‘Understanding People, Nature and Culture: Heritage Management for Building Resilience of Living Settlements’.

In collaborating with the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership Programme, this training workshop will improve conservation practice for culture and nature through the work of the World Heritage Convention, establish the contribution of World Heritage properties to sustainable development, strengthen cooperation between diverse partners, and formulate a network of collaboration for the integration of all of these aspects and activities as a crucial basis for the success of the entire programme. Disaster risk management and climate change adaptation will be established as key component parts of a new approach to integrated conservation, management and presentation of nature and culture within heritage sites to build their resilience. Disaster risk management and climate change adaptation should be adopted and made crucial and indivisible components of policies and management strategies for World Heritage sites as well as their larger contexts. The training will also discuss the implementation of effective disaster risk management planning for World Heritage sites including mitigation, adaptation and preparedness in the face of climate change and disaster risks.

Overall Objectives

1. Raise awareness on disaster risks and their impact on cultural heritage in Southeast Asian countries

2. Promote disaster risk management as part of cultural heritage conservation and management.

3. Provide fundamental principles in conservation and disaster risk management for cultural heritage

4. Harness traditional knowledge and local wisdom for the elaboration of risk mitigation measures

5. Establish a Southeast Asian and international network of collaboration in disaster risk management

Workshop Objectives

1. Guide participants towards developing heritage management actions that take into account multiple hazards and risk factors related to disasters and climate change affecting the larger natural setting

2. Build capacity in soliciting management solutions for risk mitigation, adaptation and preparedness for living settlements

3. Contribute to the development of a new manual on building the resilience of World Heritage sites encompassing both natural and cultural heritage

Expected Outputs

Participants will be able to understand the basics of the heritage management structure by adopting a place-based approach to understanding the natural setting, its cultural features and the people involved. Participants will be able to critically analyze hazards and risk factors that need to be taken into account in establishing a holistic heritage management system with preventive conservation measures, adopting appropriate adaptation, mitigation and preparedness measures.

After the course implementation, participants will be asked to disseminate the acquired knowledge to their respective sites and institutions, and contribute towards establishing a holistic management system.

Methodology

The training workshop will comprise two main parts:

1. Interactive lectures by resource persons with longstanding experience in cultural heritage conservation, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation for cultural heritage at regional and international levels, i.e. experts from ICCROM, the International Council of Monuments and Sites – International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICOMOS-ICORP), IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and R-DMUCH

2. On-site workshop activities, including field exercises in Kampong Ayer and other heritage sites in Bandar Seri Begawan, and various assignments based on the methodologies developed by R-DMUCH and ICCROM.

The contents of this training workshop will be an interdisciplinary endeavour combining cultural and natural heritage conservation, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation.

For more information, please click here.