Climate Heritage Initiative

Since 1965, WMF has adapted to ensure that it is tackling the most pressing problems facing historic sites around the world. In recent years, this has meant focusing on climate-related threats to heritage places as rainfall patterns change, severe storms grow more frequent, and sea levels rise. Our work at the nexus of climate change and heritage consists of both mitigation (limiting greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation (safeguarding communities from the worst effects of climate change).

In 2024, building upon these longstanding commitments, we launched our Climate Heritage Initiative (CHI) to redouble our commitment to using heritage preservation as a climate solution. While climate change has had and will continue to have damaging effects on both material and intangible heritage, preservation can not only ameliorate the immediate impact on buildings and sites but make places and their communities less vulnerable in the long term.

For more information on our Climage Heritage Initiative, click here.

World Monuments Fund's Cultivating Resilience Program has been made possible by support from The Gerard B. Lambert Foundation.

Left: Dancers gathering in the ancient town of Huaquis, Peru, for Watch Day celebrations at Yanacancha-Huaquis Cultural Landscape (photo courtesy of Luis Yucra); right: Bijapur’s Asar Mahal faces a large pool to the east (photo credit: Joginder Singh).

The four categories of projects under the umbrella of the CHI respond to areas of greatest need identified by our partners in the field, with an emphasis on a solutions-oriented approach.

Traditional Water Systems

The UN predicts that by 2050, 2.4 billion people in cities will be facing water scarcity. In rural areas, changes in seasonal rainfall and overextraction of groundwater are straining resources. Historic water management strategies and infrastructure, some of which are at risk of being lost, can help communities adapt to environmental stresses in low-carbon ways while championing traditional knowledge and creating jobs.

Cultivating Resilience

Parks and gardens are uniquely vulnerable to shifts in climate, whether from increased flooding or longer dry spells, invasive pests or new plant diseases. Identifying immediate risks to historic gardens will allow us to preserve valuable urban green spaces that counter the urban heat island effect, mitigate pollution, foster biodiversity, and provide places for recreation to support wellness. Explore our Cultivating Resilience initative here. 

Coastal Connections

Coastal zones are among the most dynamic environments on the planet. They also include some of our most treasured heritage sites. Sharing knowledge about shared challenges from sea level rise will allow communities and heritage professionals to adapt, learn, and build resilience together. To learn more about Coastal Connections and the sites grouped under its umbrella, visit the project's landing page here.

Greener Glasshouses

The glasshouses of historic botanical gardens are both sites of wonder and important research centers, but the structures often have outdated, carbon-intensive heating systems. Creating a model for the sustainable energy transition of these buildings would be a major feat. WMF is partnering with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK to pilot strategies that drastically reduce emissions and can be applied at similar structures around the world.

World Monuments Fund's Cultivating Resilience Program has been made possible by support from The Gerard B. Lambert Foundation.