Culture on the move: Towards an inclusive framework for cultural heritage considerations in climate-related migration, displacement and relocation policies

Abstract

The paper offers a foundation upon which to build a better approach to integrate archeology and cultural heritage into the policy dialogue for climate related migration, both internally to the United States and internationally. First, the paper provides a survey of the pillars of climate change policy, mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, and how cultural heritage, archeology, and historic preservation are addressed within these three areas. It then delves further into the active role the cultural heritage community has fostered within the United States and internationally to better inform climate policy and action. It does so in part by synthesizing the work of the Pocantico Working Group on Climate Migration and Cultural Heritage, an international network of cultural leaders, archeologists, and scholars. Finally, the paper presents next steps into effectively incorporating cultural considerations into policy and legal options for addressing internal migration and relocation in the context of climate change. It is the intent of this brief piece to offer a groundwork reading of current frameworks for cultural heritage and climate change policy upon which future scholars can and should build towards finding effective ways of including heritage in climate action at the national and international levels. At its core, climate change is the modern story of the human journey. It is a story about the looming reality of losing the very things that connect us to our past and the tangible and intangible cultural heritage assets that construct the contours of our identities today.