Developing climate risk assessments for World Heritage: the Climate Vulnerability Index

A novel Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) has been successfully applied to assess climate risks at UNESCO World Heritage Sites, offering a structured approach to evaluate threats and inform conservation strategies. The CVI was first piloted in 2018 at Shark Bay, Australia, and later adapted for cultural sites, including the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, Scotland, with additional workshops conducted in Edinburgh in 2021. This study demonstrates that the CVI framework can effectively identify vulnerabilities across different types of World Heritage properties, providing actionable insights for stakeholders. The approach combines expert assessments with quantitative metrics to prioritize risks and guide adaptive management, marking a significant advancement in climate risk assessment methodologies for heritage conservation.

Jones, R., Davies, M., Day, J., & Heron, S. (2022). Developing climate risk assessments for World Heritage: the Climate Vulnerability Index. Internet Archaeology, (60). https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.60.3