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https://theconversation.com/rising-sea-levels-may-threaten-70-of-africas-heritage-sites-by-2050-177385>
"The value of heritage has been underestimated in climate policy and
sustainable development circles, but heritage is crucial to people’s identity,
culture and wellbeing. It is also critical to the sustainability of
communities, ecosystems and biodiversity.
We already know that climate change is having an impact on African heritage
sites. The issue is gaining visibility. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change and other high profile bodies have recently commissioned the first white
paper on climate risks to heritage globally. The paper is due in July 2022.
But measurable evidence relating to future impacts of climate change on African
heritage has been negligible, limited to a handful of studies on the impacts of
sea-level rise on North African cultural heritage sites.
This prompted collaboration between an international group of experts to
produce some hard data. We are in the fields of climate risk, coastal
modelling, coastal engineering, geographic information systems, and the
archaeology and heritage of Africa. We modelled the impacts of extreme sea
levels and erosion -– including a one-in-100-years event –- on African heritage
sites.
The aim of the research was to accurately map the physical extent of African
heritage sites using geo-spatial techniques and then overlay these with flood
maps. The maps are based on models of extreme sea-level data. The result was an
estimate of how exposed heritage sites are to sea-level rise and coastal
erosion in the future.
Our research will help heritage managers identify and prioritise key areas for
conservation and heritage adaptation to climate change."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
