Integrating Climate Change into Protection Policies in Greece

The emerging need to secure the long-term preservation of the archaeological sites and monuments of Greece against the growing threats of climate change is considered a pressing issue for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. The impacts of climate and weather-related risks (extreme weather events associated with floods and intense and gusty winds, forest fires, drought-erosion-landslides, rising sea-levels, etc.) are recognized as emerging threats that compromise the integrity and values of the cultural and natural environment. In recent years, a systematic and targeted national effort has been implemented to improve the resilience of cultural sites to climate change by planning and implementing central and regional policies that address heritage needs and provide the methodology and technical tools to identify, measure, evaluate and counter the impacts of climate change to cultural heritage on a medium and long-term basis. As part of this process, climate change is being taken into consideration within the framework of drafting integrated management plans for 15 Greek sites which are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, an ongoing project implemented by the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of the Ministry. In this paper we attempt to highlight the pilot character of these plans for integrating into management policies climate-related aspects that need to be addressed in a coordinated manner both in order to achieve the national goals regarding the preservation and adaption of cultural heritage to the effects of climate change, and to prevent and mitigate the specific dangers not only for the World Heritage Properties but, gradually, for all Greek cultural monuments and archaeological sites.