Preserving Legacies Blog

Welcoming 12 New Heritage Places and Practices to the Preserving Legacies Cohort Program

We are excited and honored to welcome 12 extraordinary cultural and natural heritage places and practices to the Preserving Legacies climate adaptation program—each one bringing its own unique story, challenges, and potential to tackle the climate crisis head-on. From historic towns to stunning landscapes, this year’s cohort is a beautiful representation of the diversity that makes up our global heritage.

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Preserving Heritage Starts with Community: How Climate Custodians Are Leading Local Action Worldwide

Climate custodians are forging stronger relationships with their communities through workshops and informal conversations, creating the foundation for fair and sustainable climate action.

Custodian Spotlight: Meet Marlon M. Martin

From big city lawyer to local leader, Marlon was one of the first custodians to participate in the Preserving Legacies cohort program. Learn more about his journey to preserve his culture and the insights he learned along the way.

Preserving Legacies

Democratizing Scientific Climate Data and Services

Climate resilience for heritage places can only be achieved when heritage custodians and communities leading adaptation efforts have not only meaningful access to relevant scientific climate data produced through Western science but also the capacity and authority to interpret, communicate, and act on that data.

Bridging Heritage and Resilience: Insights from the 27th UNFCCC Adaptation Committee Meeting

Darius Saviour Ankamah's first-hand experience representing Preserving Legacies' HACA initiative at the 27th UNFCCC Adaptation Committee Meeting in Bonn, Germany May 7-9.

Darius Saviour Ankamah

Preserving Legacies at the Forefront of Climate Leadership in Heritage

From Rome to Marseille to Budva, Preserving Legacies team members have been amplifying a shared message: heritage is not just what we protect — it is how we adapt.

Preserving Legacies

Apply to the Preserving Legacies 2025 Cohort Today!

The application period for the 2025 Preserving Legacies Cohort Program is open! Apply today!

Preserving Legacies Three Phase Program Overview

Preserving Legacies is a three-phase program on climate training, assessing risk, and acting to protect heritage places.

Preserving Legacies Launches Heritage Adapts to Climate Alliance

Across the globe, the omission of culture and heritage from climate adaptation policy and finance is a barrier to scaling up work to protect these community assets from climate-related risks – but the new Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) framework offers an opportunity to begin fixing this problem.

10 Lessons for Hosting a Community Climate Vulnerability Workshop

In June 2023, the Preserving Legacies team met in Wadi Musa to support the community vulnerability workshop of Petra. The Preserving Legacies Petra Vulnerability Workshop produced 10 important lessons to consider when assessing climate vulnerability with your own community.

Victoria Herrmann

10 Lessons for Mapping Site Values

To safeguard a cultural or natural heritage site from climate change impacts, we must first understand why places are special to the communities that care for them. Here are 10 lessons to consider when mapping values.

Victoria Herrmann

World Heritage at 50: Giving a Future to Our Past

By committing to both climate action and heritage preservation, world leaders hold the potential to save humanity’s shared sense of continuity—culturally, and existentially.

Victoria Herrmann

November 1, 2024

Press & Features

National Geographic

The world's historic sites face climate change. Can Petra lead the way?

The 2000-year-old desert city created an adventurous backdrop for Indiana Jones, but today, drought, floods, and sandstorms imperit it.

April 26, 2024

Irish Star

Majestic Irish island featured in Star Wars movies will teach world about climate change

The Irish site will be used as an example to preserve cultural heritage sites

April 9, 2024

IrishCentral

Skellig Michael joins global initiative tackling climate change at world heritage sites

Great Skellig is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites selected for "ICOMOS-National Geographic Preserving Legacies: A Future for our Past".

April 8, 2024