Santo Domingo tests UNESCO climate toolkit to protect its historic centre

The Colonial City of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic has become the first cultural World Heritage property in Latin America to pilot UNESCO’s Climate Action Toolkit, the organization reported on 16 October. The historic centre has been on the World Heritage List since 1990.

How the pilot works

Heritage, planning and climate specialists carried out field exercises from 5 to 9 October. They examined how heavy rain, flooding, hurricanes and sea-level rise may affect historic buildings and the neighbourhood around them. The method connects climate projections to the particular features that make the site significant and to its management plans.

This is still a draft tool, not a completed shield against future disasters. Participants hope to develop a climate action plan for the city. Other historic districts can learn from the approach: protecting heritage involves drainage, municipal readiness and residents’ needs as well as restoring old walls.

Source: UNESCO.

Cover photo: -wuppertaler, CC BY 4.0; cropped.