Skellig Michael has been selected to join a new global initiative to safeguard sites of cultural significance from the impact of climate change.
The UNESCO world heritage site known as Sceilg Mhichíl is to become part of the “Preserving Legacies” project, according to the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the National Monuments Service (NMS).
The project “will equip communities worldwide with the tools to accurately anticipate and assess worsening and future climate impacts on culture, and help them turn that scientific knowledge into action to safeguard sites”, they state.
“Sceilg Mhichíl will be one of ten global sites initially involved in the project, which is funded by the National Geographic Society and Manulife,” the OPW says.
“ There are two primary sites: the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Petra, Jordan and eight observer sites, of which Sceilg Mhichíl is one,” it says.
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD - “ an honour for Ireland to be part of this global programme led by National Geographic”
These eight observer sites are: Angkor Archeological Park, Cambodia; Border Fields, USA and Mexico; Historical Mosque City of Bagerhat, Bangladesh; Nan Madol, Micronesia; Levuka, Fiji; Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, Togo and Benin; Sceilg Mhichíl, Ireland; and Port, Fortress, and Group of Monuments at Cartagena, Columbia.
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD said it was “ an honour for Ireland to be part of this global programme led by National Geographic”.
“It is recognition of Sceilg Mhichíl’s place in the pantheon of World Heritage sites and also of our obligations to ensure its protection,” he said.
“Our National Monuments Service team, with OPW, look forward to sharing our experiences, working with communities and learning from approaches elsewhere, as we join together to address what is a shared challenge of the impact of climate change on the world’s heritage,” he said.
“Our ambitious approach to addressing this critical issue will not only lead to tangible protection of cultural heritage sites; it will be the game-changers needed to increase access to heritage adaptation and transform conservation as a field to meet the challenges of a climate-changed world,” Dr Victoria Herrmann, National Geographic Explorer and Project Director of Preserving Legacies, said.
