Learning from Old Tides to Ride Future Waves

The climate crisis threatens all forms of life, lifeways and cultures.
In a world that faces several crises from different origins, climate change is adding additional challenges, and affecting more the most vulnerable communities, particularly in least developed or developing nations, which are among the main impacted, although contributing very less to global warming. In a long list of effects and impacts or crises, conflicts and disasters, there is the risk of losing important cultural values, part of the people’s identity and tradition.
Interestingly, however, it is often said that culture can provide innovative solutions to adapt and reduce risk to their communities, by sharing traditional practices, fostering nature-based strategies, and engaging with local communities for action. A question remains, is it so?
This panel intends to showcase ICCROM’s program: Net Zero: Heritage for Climate Action, which seeks on-the-ground implementation of culture-based mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce disaster risks and the impacts of climate change for people and heritage. One of its primary objectives is to enhance risk reduction and coping capacities of vulnerable heritage communities. Net Zero addresses the issue related to heritage safeguarding, decarbonizing, upholding cultural rights and the sustainable development of fragile cultural bearers, and effecting change locally while strengthening efforts globally.
This session will present five Net Zero case studies from all around the world, fostering the discussion about different approaches and how historical experiences and traditional knowledge can be used and adapted to reduce contemporary risks. The outcome from this session will provide innovative pathways to risk-informed sustainable development, connecting traditional knowledge with nature-based and ecosystem based approaches, while sharing good practices to be adapted and implemented worldwide.