Answer:
Recent studies, moreover, have demonstrated how heritage, in both its tangible and intangible forms, is not simply a passive entity in the face of disaster, but has a significant potential for reducing disaster risks in general. This potential can be harnessed to reduce vulnerabilities, and thus negative impacts on lives, property, and livelihoods, before, during and after a catastrophic event.
Heritage plays a crucial role in fostering resilience by reducing vulnerabilities, and also by providing precious assets for the sustainable social and economic development of an affected region during its recovery phase, by attracting investment, creating employment, or providing renewable natural resources. This is why the protection of heritage in the event of disaster is of paramount importance.
The Need for Action
There are many ways in which heritage can assist in reducing the impact of disasters. For instance, research in areas affected by seismic activities has shown that buildings constructed with traditional techniques have proven very resilient to earthquakes when well maintained.
For example, many observers noted that the preservation of traditional mud-brick and timber-laced dwellings would have most likely reduced the tragic death toll of the 2003 Bam, Iran, earthquake, as nearly all casualties were reported to have occurred in buildings constructed less than 40 years before, using a non-engineered and uncontrolled mix of modern techniques. Similarly, an appropriate use of land and the conservation of forests have been identified as major contributors to preventing landslides and floods.
The recent case of the fishermen from the Andaman Islands, who survived the 2005 tsunami because they knew, from their forefathers, that when the sea withdraws, humans must do the same, is another testimony to the ways in which traditional knowledge can help save lives. Similar traditional knowledge ensures fire protection at the World Heritage site of the Kiyomizu Dera Temple of Kyoto, in Japan. Other examples can be found in all regions of the world. Heritage and the traditional skills that have maintained it over the centuries, therefore, can be essential to enhance prevention and mitigation of disasters.
Despite all this, many World Heritage properties do not have any established policy, plan or process for managing, i.e. reducing risks associated with disasters. Moreover, existing national and local disaster preparedness and response mechanisms usually do not include heritage expertise in their operations. As a result, hundreds of sites are critically exposed to potential hazards, while communities worldwide are not harnessing the full potential of their heritage, both tangible and intangible, for reducing disaster risk.
