Capacity Building on World Heritage Risk Management in the Arab Region
From 24 to 28 July 2022, the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), in partnership with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), organised a Capacity Building workshop on World Heritage Risk Management in the Arab Region, at its premises in Manama, Bahrain.
The Arab region is home to many invaluable natural and cultural heritage sites, starting with collections of artefacts, historical sites and buildings, landscapes and natural systems. Recently, human-made and natural hazards have affected the region’s heritage sites, especially conflict and political instability, which have further negatively impacted sites and the socio-economic livelihoods of the communities.
The five-day workshop invited 19 participants, including site managers from across the Arab region, to learn about the challenges and opportunities in building the resilience of heritage sites and their local communities. The workshop also helped exchange experiences and knowledge among the participants on risk management of several World Heritage Sites. Moreover, the workshop guided the participants in developing strategies for risk mitigation, adaptation and preparedness measures.
During the final day of the workshop, participants presented an action plan to implement their disaster risk management plan, and will present a proposal of pilot projects to implement in their heritage sites. A follow-up workshop in partnership with ICCROM is expected to be organised for next year, 2023.
Risk management is an essential component of strategies to protect and preserve World Heritage Sites in the Arab region. There has been a focus on linking disasters and climate change in order to strengthen the integration of policies and strategies for dealing with climate change in the conservation and management of heritage sites.
