The heritage-climate change nexus: towards a values-based adaptive planning response for cultural landscapes

Landscape designations for heritage-rich areas have generally focused on preventing change and preserving continuity – defensive approaches – in the face of perceived threats. However, in an era of climate breakdown, preservation of cultural landscapes may no longer be viable. Drawing lessons from wider debates on cultural heritage, we explore the potential for developing more adaptive, rather than defensive, approaches to planning for cultural landscapes in an era of climate breakdown. This reflects the growing recognition of the need for adaptive responses that are not only technically effective but also socially and culturally grounded. We argue that planning approaches for cultural landscapes will increasingly need to embrace evolutionary and values-based perspectives to cope with uncertainties and the inevitability of cultural loss. We emphasise local knowledge, intangible heritage, values and lived experience in relation to cultural heritage, contending that these are better suited to assessing vulnerability and to building adaptive capacity.