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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON BUILT HERITAGE AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

Final Report Summary - NOAHS ARK (Global climate change impact on built heritage and cultural landscapes)

Climate change is anticipated to be globally expressed with variations in temperature and precipitation, extreme climatic events, alterations of soil conditions and groundwater and modifications in sea level. As a result, a range of direct and indirect effects are expected to be observed on the built environment, such as the acceleration, delay or worsening of building decay.

Climate change impacts can be identified on individual processes; however, it is difficult to assess the overall risk of a monument on the basis of currently available data. The NOAH'S ARK project aimed to address this challenge through the fulfilment of the following objectives:
1. the determination of the meteorological parameters and changes that were most critical to the built cultural heritage;
2. the prediction and description, based on research outcomes, of the effects of climate change on the European monuments over the next hundred years;
3. the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies for historic buildings, sites, monuments and materials that were likely to be most affected by changes in climate and associated disasters;
4. the provision of electronic information sources and tools for heritage managers to assist them in evaluating the threats, simulating future scenarios and modelling the effects of different adaptation strategies;
5. the preparation of recommendations to policy makers and legislators through the activities of an advisory panel which was established as part of the project.

The results that were obtained during NOAH'S ARK were utilised for the preparation of maps depicting areas with increased or decreased risk for materials' deterioration in different European regions. The finalised maps were included in a vulnerability atlas, which presented data relevant to cultural heritage and developed meteorological information in terms of changes in the inflicted damage and potential risks.

In addition, guidelines were formulated for four related themes, namely the rainwater and drainage infrastructure, the climatic effects on structures, the climatic effects on materials and the indoor and outdoor interactions. The guidelines facilitated the development of adaptation strategies that enabled stakeholders, policy makers and organisations to contemplate future pressures.

The acquired knowledge was disseminated via the organisation of two international meetings that attracted the attention of experts, press and media. Moreover, information was communicated through conferences, workshops, seminars, presentations and academic courses. Finally, a project website was established and regularly updated to provide access to information and to underpin public awareness on the threat of climate change on monumental buildings.