ABSTRACT
Cultural heritage, in both its material and immaterial dimensions, is an essential aspect of individuals' and communities' identity, culture, and everyday life. However, it is continuously threatened or damaged by natural and human-related hazards, including those arising from climate change. Even though international and national organizations have recognized the relevance of disaster risk management applied to the field of cultural heritage (DRM-CH), a mainly techno-centric approach (TCA) has prevailed among DRM-CH practice. This chapter discusses the characteristics and implications of TCA in cultural heritage and in society, using examples of DRM-CH practice from Mexico City after some major disasters.
This chapter highlights that TCAs are top-down strategies that can discriminate some cultural assets (and their associated values for communities) over others if intangible social and cultural values at the local level are not considered. In addition, these approximations usually represent a high cost that may not be accessible to all sites, which could also generate disparity in the subsequent recovery process. Since each actor designs risk reduction strategies for CH according to a set of recognized values and practices, it is imperative to build a comprehensive CH frame that enables a holistic DRM approach.
In the light of this, this chapter proposes a comprehensive approach for DRM-CH that: integrates both tangible and intangible CH in risk assessment and DRM; includes actors from all levels working in coordination to face systemic factors; and addresses the creation of vulnerability and its root causes (i.e., policy and power distributions).
