Risk Preparedness

ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP)

The goals of ICORP are to enhance the state of preparedness within the heritage institutions and professions in relation to disasters of natural or human origin, and to promote the better integration of the protection of heritage structures, sites or areas into national, local as well as international disaster management, preparedness planning, mitigation and relief operations.

FLOOD RECOVERY LINKS

  • The best available advice at present on drying out buildings is available at this link
  • Another useful link to flooding and historic buildings is located on the Historic England website
  • The FEMA (USA): Restoring Family Heirlooms after Flood fact sheet is available at this link
  • Blue Shield Australia also has more information at their website

 

UNESCO’s response to protect culture in crises, UNESCO, 2016

Also available via the UNESCO Digital Library

 

First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (handbook & toolkit), ICCROM & Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, 2018

When disasters strike, local communities are the first to try and safeguard their cultural heritage, however their ability to intervene is often greatly reduced during complex and multi-faceted humanitarian crises. At the same time, first responders may not always be aware of what is culturally important, and they often lack the training to handle heritage objects and structures, and meet the specific needs of those who bear traditional knowledge.

First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis is a two-part publication created for the various actors involved in an emergency. It provides a practical method and a set of ready-to-use tools for securing endangered cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. The user-friendly workflows help readers to plan and implement coordinated cultural rescue and risk reduction operations that involve local communities, heritage custodians, emergency responders and humanitarians.

 

ICOMOS Guidance on Post Trauma Recovery and Reconstruction for World Heritage Cultural Properties

This document was prepared in response to the request for guidance on reconstruction expressed in the World Heritage Committee decision (Decision 40 COM7) at its 39th session in Bonn, Germany. It was largely developed through the deliberations of an international workshop on reconstruction convened at ICOMOS Headquarters in Paris in September 2016 and sponsored by Kyushu University, Japan.

 

The ABC Method: a risk management approach to the preservation of cultural heritage, Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute and ICCROM, 2016

This manual offers a comprehensive understanding of risk management applied to the preservation of heritage assets, whether collections, buildings or sites. It provides a step-by-step procedure and a variety of tools to guide the heritage professional in applying the ABC method to their own context. The method can be applied to a range of situations, from analysis of a single risk to a comprehensive risk assessment of the entire heritage asset.

 

A Guide to Risk Management of Cultural Heritage, Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute and ICCROM, 2016

This guide is an abridged version of The ABC Method. It explains the ABC Method using many images, basic examples and simple exercises. It has been designed to introduce the risk-based approach to decision makers and to promote its use by heritage professionals and a younger generation of conservators.