The 2022 World Monuments Fund Watch (WMF) spotlights 25 heritage sites of extraordinary significance, facing pressing challenges, and where WMF partnerships with local communities could make a meaningful difference.
…Representing 24 countries and spanning nearly 12,000 years of history…
The World Monuments Fund writes:
The 2022 open call resulted in more than 225 nominations that underwent extensive internal and external review by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and an independent panel of international heritage experts responsible for the final selection.
Representing 24 countries and spanning nearly 12,000 years of history, the 2022 Watch encompasses a broad range of examples of how global challenges manifest and intersect at heritage sites, providing opportunities to improve the lives of communities as they adapt for the future.
Global Challenges [include]:
- Climate change: As global warming continues to intensify, innovative methods as well as reinforcement of traditional knowledge are necessary to mitigate its impact on heritage places and help communities adapt.
- Underrepresentation: Inequities in heritage result in oversight and neglect of many significant places. Greater efforts should be made to amplify narratives that tell a more textured, just and complete story of humanity.
- Imbalanced Tourism: Both overtourism and lack of visitation endanger heritage places and often sideline or disrupt local communities and their way of life. Sustainable tourism strategies are needed to recalibrate the impact of tourism and ensure just outcome for local communities.
- Crisis Recovery: Armed conflict, natural disaster, and other types of destruction can cause irreparable damage to heritage places and communities. Community-led preservation efforts can participate in building resilience and regenerating the social fabric in places affected by crisis.
