ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that heritage development can be an important process for building community resilience. This is a strategic issue in the era of global climate change for several reasons. First, the sheer scale and complexity of climate change, coupled with current human population growth rates, suggests that socioecological disruptions will become more frequent and severe (Heltberg, Siegel and Jorgensen 2009; Pachauri and Reisinger 2007; Young et al. 2006). As the number of affected regions rises, so too does the need to enhance community-level resilience worldwide. Second, as discussed in previous chapters in this volume, climate change threatens a growing array of tangible and intangible heritage values. Retaining these values will require communities to be both creative and resilient in the face of sometimes drastic changes in their natural and cultural systems. Research on the linkages between heritage and community resilience is in its infancy. This chapter is an early exploration of this new and dynamic territory.
