Pathways and Barriers to Climate Action through Heritage Research

The social and political changes needed for sustainability are complex and entangled alongside a new salience in research and its potential role towards decision-making. While certainly there is a push to improve our understanding of how to approach, understand and manage the Anthropocene, core challenges for the arts and humanities continue through discussion, debate and governance. 

This half-day workshop hopes to contribute to the impressive energy and commitment of individuals, institutions and governments that continues despite current awkward social arrangements, by exploring the role of heritage research within the climate action movement, and what some of the opportunities and challenges are. Heritage studies itself is a critical aspect to tackling the climate crisis, but is often merely an add on to research.

The areas we are focusing specifically on are:

• What can heritage research contribute towards characterising and qualifying climate-related risks?
• How can heritage research help build resilience to climate variability and change without exacerbating existing inequalities?
• What can heritage research offer climate services to help individuals and communities make climate-smart decisions?

Provisional programme

• 10:00: Welcome
• 10:05: What can heritage research contribute towards characterising and qualifying climate-related risks
• 10:20: How can heritage research heritage research help build resilience to climate variability and change without exacerbating existing inequalities?
• 10:45: Panel: Next steps for the protection of natural and cultural capital 
• 11:40: What can heritage research offer climate services to help individuals and communities make climate-smart decisions? 
• 12:15: What are we missing? The nature-climate divide
• 12:25: Panel: Effective use of heritage studies: thinking about societal benefit and economic value, the role of stakeholders, and the future development of heritage policy

Confirmed speakers include:

• Albino Jopela, Head of Programmes, African World Heritage Fund
• Caitlin de Silvey, Professor of Cultural Geography, University of Exeter
• Carl Carrington, Head of Planning and Conservation, Blackpool Council
• Ewan Hislop, Head of Technical Research, Historic Environment Scotland
• Hannah Fluck, Head of Environmental Research, Historic England
• Kate Lonsdale, AHRC UK Climate Resilience Programme Champion, Leeds University
• Mariella de Soissons, Policy Advisor, Climate Change and Adaptation, Defra
• Navin Piplani, Principal Director, INTACH Heritage Academy, New Delhi
• Sandra Henry, Lead Research Archaeologist, CHERISH (Discovery Programme)
• Sanjay Johal, Community Flood Resilience Project Officer, National Flood Forum
• Victoria Bankes Price, Planning Advisor, Forestry Commission
• Yann Grandgirard, Project Manager, Edinburgh World Heritage

Further details

• Details about registration and the online platform being used for this event are available here

The AHRC Heritage Priority Area team – led by Rodney Harrison at the UCL Institute of Archaeology– works with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the heritage research community, and heritage partner organisations, to draw together and stimulate the development of a wide range of research across the arts and humanities that make an important contribution to understanding heritage.