From extreme weather fluctuations, to the devastating effects of pests and non-native species, climate change is creating and accelerating the interconnected challenges affecting the UK’s cultural and natural heritage. Much of the data and expertise needed to help tackle these issues already exists, yet siloed working practices at every level can often hinder public and private sector organisations from sharing data effectively, or from working collaboratively on common challenges.

The project is one of three pilots announced by the UK National Commission for UNESCO and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that will receive funding and support to take part in the groundbreaking project, Climate Change & UNESCO Heritage.

Funded by the HM Treasury Shared Outcomes Fund, the £1.8 million Climate Change & UNESCO Heritage project aims to explore, develop and test ways to overcome these barriers. With cultural and natural heritage being foundational to localising global challenges like climate change, the pilot will also capitalise on the huge potential UNESCO designated sites offer as testing grounds for developing new ways of working.

Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site, along with North Devon Biosphere Reserve and Fforest Fawr Global Geopark, have been selected as the three UNESCO sites that will join the project as local case study locations for a 12-month period.  

Each site will work with local communities and stakeholders to co-design, develop and test locally-derived models of partnership working. They will also create new shareable and reusable data tools and templates that will help identify and analyse climate-related information more effectively. Project managers will be employed at each UNESCO site to act as the focal point for the project, bringing together community stakeholders.

Heritage sustainability

Experts at Newcastle University will receive funding to host the pilot and a local project team on behalf of the wider Hadrian's Wall partnership board.

Working together, and with local communities along the length of Hadrian’s Wall, they will develop a GIS management tool that will gather data from a wide range of sources, such as archaeological finds, flood-risk maps and current travel and tourism data, to identify and understand how climate change is affecting the 135 kilometres-long World Heritage Site.

The learning will lay the groundwork for an improved understanding of the threat climate change poses to the UK’s natural and historic environment, and support UNESCO sites and their local communities to make informed decisions on how to best navigate these challenges in the future. Results of the pilot will be available in summer 2025.

Jane Gibson, Chair of the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership Board, said:

“We are delighted that Hadrian’s Wall can be a pilot in this very important project. The Wall and the many partner organisations that manage this World Heritage Site will all be affected by climate change. We are proud that our data and partnership can contribute to future sustainability of our heritage and look forward to working with Newcastle University, who’ll lead on the pilot, and with wider project partners.”

The project builds on research by the UK and Canadian National Commissions for UNESCO which found that UNESCO sites are not only ideal test beds for developing participatory approaches to global challenges, but are also well-placed to support genuine, on-the-ground collaborative action that can help to achieve outcomes aligned with the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda.

Work is already underway to bring together government departments and public agencies to explore these challenges at a national level.
    
Chris Bryant MP, Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism said: “I am delighted to see some of our iconic UNESCO sites playing a central role in making sure we are able to protect our heritage assets against the threat of climate change.

“I look forward to seeing this project progress and uncover how we can make the best use of our data and expertise, so that we can continue to care for these important places and the communities they serve for generations to come.”

James Bridge, Chief Executive and Secretary-General of the UK National Commission for UNESCO said:

“Across the world, places of cultural and natural heritage - and the communities that live in these places - are facing significant challenges due to the changing climate. If we are to solve these challenges, we must all work together, across multiple sectors, and in new and innovative ways.

“The UK's UNESCO designations have a long record of site-to-site collaboration and as multi-stakeholder partnerships they provide the perfect testing ground for this kind of exploratory approach. Whilst the pilot will test approaches tailored to three specific sites in the UK, it is hoped that the results will be relevant, adaptable, and useful to people and places more broadly, both in the UK and internationally.”

Press release adapted with thanks to the UK National Commission for UNESCO