Role of Heritage in Climate Change Governance

Elizabeth Van Dolah

PhD Candidate, University of Maryland Department of Anthropology

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Within social science research on climate change, there is increasing interest in the human dimensions of climate change adaptation governance, i.e., the decision-making process facilitating collective actions to address climate-induced vulnerabilities. A number of anthropologists and other social scientists argue that the role of power in adaptation governance needs to be more closely examined as a potential source of vulnerability, where access to power differentially affects the capacities of actors to shape decisions that support their social wellbeing. As a result, researchers are calling for more studies on the underlying processes facilitating empowerment and disempowerment in climate change adaptation planning in order to better understand sources of vulnerability and to more productively develop resilient adaptation planning processes. My dissertation research project answers these calls by examining how cultural heritage, as one such sociocultural process, is used to influence climate change adaptation planning taking place through the DIPP Integrated Coastal Resiliency Assessment.

I approach heritage as a tool for drawing on the past to enhance one’s ability to shape desirable pathways of change. Heritage is created through narratives about the past that mobilize particular values, visions, and meanings in decisions about change (e.g., stories that emphasize the importance of preserving Methodist heritage in the Deal Island as the landscape undergoes changes). These narratives can help support resilience by empowering culturally-informed pathways of change that help sustain communities and their cultural identities. However, heritage can also be a source of vulnerability in instances where the past is used to push values and visions that overshadow culturally-grounded needs and priorities in decision-making processes. By investigating how heritage is used to influence climate change decision-making, this research will provide insights on the sociocultural processes shaping adaptation decision-making, and the implications that these uses have for developing resilience to climate-induced socio-ecological change. It also will help inform the DIPP ICRA process by offering insights on how the past can be most effectively used in planning for future change on the Deal Island Peninsula.

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This research project is on-going. Please contact Liz Van Dolah at vandolah@terpmail.umd.edu, if you have questions or want to share your thoughts or insights. Research supported by the Maryland Sea Grant.