Heritage and climate change
The Heritage Council of Victoria, in partnership with Heritage Victoria, has just released new guidance to help owners and managers of heritage places and objects to consider the vulnerability of their place or object to the impacts of climate change.
This includes:
- Six Principles – to guide the protection and conservation of Victoria’s heritage places and objects from the impacts of climate change, updated with practical tips for applying these principles.
- Vulnerability Assessment Guide – a two-page document that poses a series of questions to guide the assessment of the potential vulnerability of a place/object to different climate change impacts. It is accompanied by eight general vulnerability assessment tables to assist thinking about vulnerability. The tables are based on eight broad types of heritage place/object protected under the Heritage Act 2017.
- Case studies – 10 illustrated three-page case studies to show the complex, site-specific nature of climate change exposure and vulnerability for different types of heritage place across Victoria and some of the different responses that could be considered to improve resilience.
The resources can be found on the Heritage Council’s website: Heritage and climate change.
The Heritage Council would like to thank Heritage Victoria for their partnership and dedication to the project that has produced these resources. They would also like to acknowledge the work and expertise of Extent Heritage, Point Advisory, Carrig Conservation International and GML Heritage in their development of the different resources.
The Heritage Council would also like to thank the Anglican Parish of Warrnambool, Charter Hall, Forest, Fire and Regions (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action), the National Trust (Victoria), Parks Victoria and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne for providing information and images for use in the 10 case studies.