To mark Africa Day, a new international project focusing on the impact of climate change on African heritage sites officially launches today, May 25.
The University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute is one of the organisations involved in the project, which will see the application of the Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) to African World Heritage properties.
Worldwide, climate change is threatening people, communities and their heritage. Africa is projected to warm more rapidly than most other regions on the planet, meaning this already vulnerable continent will be hard-hit by the impact of climate change.
The CVI assesses the climate change risk to heritage and the vulnerability of associated communities based on their economic, social and cultural relationships to those values and their capacity to adapt.
It was first applied to the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site in 2019, when it found the site to be at risk of destruction within 50 years due to rising sea levels, increased storminess and rainfall.
The CVI Africa project will train six African heritage professionals in the use of the index.
Leading the UHI Archaeology Institute involvement is Professor Jane Downes, who will be focusing on the Sukur Cultural Landscape in the Mandara Mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border.
The project has been funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Global Challenges Research Fund scheme with support from the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
For more details, see http://cvi-africa.org.
