ABSTRACT
The Sendai Framework – in effect from 2015 through 2030 points out the importance of cultural heritage in post-disaster recovery. Around the world areas affected by disasters often struggle to recover. Many have found that a key element of their efforts to recover is the ability to draw upon their heritage, folkways, and culture. Sometimes new growth in cultural and heritage arise in the aftermath of disasters. The other side of this coin is that many unsuccessful examples of post-disaster recovery failed to adequately address heritage issues. In this chapter I will explore the idea of cultural heritage and discuss why it is essential to post-disaster recovery.
Scholars throughout the history of disaster research had noted the importance or place, of home, and of community. Scholars in the field of heritage studies have shown the importance of rituals, celebrations, and everyday culture. Through looking at the confluence of these two bases of knowledge, we can understand that there is a critical role to be played by cultural heritage in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and post-disaster recovery.
A disaster can act as a window on the social construction of our everyday environments. This allows us to examine how and why specific cultural traditions are important and valued by particular communities. In the same way we can also see how some elements of culture and heritage fail to survive a disaster. In other cases, disasters can act as a transformative mechanism that changes how, why, or where, certain rituals and traditions take place. We can observe how cultural is malleable, even as it is preserved.
Cultural heritage is a critical consideration in post-disaster recovery. It can operate as a tool to facilitate a return for the affected community. The failure to consider cultural heritage can assure a less than desirable recovery outcome. Through the process of disaster, everyday life can transform and change. Certain practices may disappear while others thrive. In all of these cases, a robust understanding of how heritage, traditions, and rituals function is essential to addressing post-disaster reconstruction.
