Still at risk after reconstruction: How does the mode of reconstruction cause new vulnerabilities when rebuilding a vernacular cultural heritage settlement?

Natural disasters, along with uncontrolled urbanization, unsustainable tourism, war, and conflicts have caused a significant loss of cultural heritage. The severe damage to ChristChurch Cathedral in New Zealand during the 2011 earthquakes is a recent case in point. The recently published map by RitsDMUCH indicates that a considerable number of world heritage sites are located in active earthquake zones, but the present cultural heritage management has not responded by focusing on disaster risk reduction (DRR) regarding the sites located in the danger zones. For example, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee admits in a survey of 60 world heritage properties located in disaster risk affected areas that only 10 percent have a Risk Preparedness plan. 1 , 2 Given the increasing threats to our heritage sites from natural disasters, this paper argues for reducing risk through a systematic risk management program embedded in the current cultural heritage management system.