Lima, October 3, 2025 – On September 29, the launch of the project “Resilient World Heritage: Building resilience to climate change and disaster risk in World Heritage Sites in Peru” took place. The initiative aims to strengthen technical capacities for disaster risk management associated with climate change in World Heritage Sites. As part of the project, a training course is being developed to enhance capacities in managing risks from natural disasters in the context of climate change across Peru’s 13 World Heritage Sites.
The initiative, which will run until May 2026, is promoted by the Embassy of Switzerland in Peru, through the Regional Thematic Hub in Lima of the Swiss International Cooperation Agency – SDC, with the support of the BBVA Foundation and LATAM Airlines, and implemented by the UNESCO Office in Peru in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP), CENEPRED, INDECI, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima, the Provincial Municipality of Cusco, and the Provincial Municipality of Arequipa.
Climate change represents a significant risk factor for World Heritage Sites, increasing both the frequency and intensity of extreme hydrometeorological events. Among the main identified impacts are those associated with phenomena such as El Niño, which, in the case of cultural heritage sites, can lead to increased rainfall and more frequent flooding, causing the degradation of traditional materials—such as adobe and quincha—and geotechnical instability of the ground. In natural heritage sites, the effects of climate change are manifested in biodiversity loss, the alteration of critical habitats, an increased risk of species extinction, and a higher incidence of forest fires.
During the launch event, Guiomar Alonso Cano, UNESCO Representative in Peru—an organization that is celebrating 30 years of work in the country—stated that “73% of World Heritage Sites are exposed to water-related risks, such as droughts and floods, which are intensified by climate change. In this context, it is urgent to coordinate efforts between international cooperation, the private sector, and academia to support the State’s work in the protection and disaster risk management of Peru’s 13 World Heritage Sites.”
For his part, the representative of the Embassy of Switzerland in Peru, Mr. Lukas Heinzer, stated that “Our embassy hosts the Regional Hub of Swiss International Cooperation, which has disaster risk management as one of its core thematic pillars. This initiative innovatively promotes the integration of disaster risk into the management of Peru’s World Heritage Sites, fostering resilience and risk governance.”
The advanced program will train more than 50 site managers and technical staff at the national level from these sites, including representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the National Service of State-Protected Natural Areas, the National Center for Estimation, Prevention and Reduction of Disaster Risk, the National Institute of Civil Defense, and the provincial municipalities of Cusco, Arequipa, and Lima.
Among the in-person modules to be held in Lima, managers and technical teams will be able to directly learn from disaster risk management experiences at the Historic Center of Lima and the Huaycán de Cieneguilla Archaeological Site, part of the Qhapaq Ñan system. They will also have the opportunity to learn about international experiences from managers of cultural and natural heritage sites located in Latin America.
Additionally, in order to ensure the sustainability of this important project, the managers of the 13 participating sites took part in the first meeting of the National Network of World Heritage Site Managers, an initiative aimed at creating a space for communication, exchange of experiences and best practices, as well as identifying needs and coordinating actions to promote capacity building for managers and technical teams at Natural, Cultural, and Mixed Heritage Sites. This initiative of the Ministry of Culture, in coordination with SERNANP, has the technical support of the UNESCO Office in Peru.
Strengthening institutional capacity in the face of climate change at World Heritage Sites
These threats require the integration of evidence-based risk management strategies and the application of specialized methodologies for assessing and mitigating impacts in the context of heritage conservation, with the aim of developing appropriate preventive, corrective, and monitoring measures in response to climate change-related effects on World Heritage Sites.
For this reason, the Resilient World Heritage project also includes the development of a specialized methodological guide designed to optimize prevention, preparedness, and response processes to natural hazards that affect both cultural and natural heritage sites in Peru. This comprehensive approach, aligned with the principles of the 1972 UNESCO Convention, prioritizes the safeguarding and transmission of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of these properties, promoting innovative and collaborative strategies that transcend borders and ensure the resilience of sites in the face of increasingly complex climate scenarios.
World Heritage Sites in Peru
Let’s remember that Peru has 13 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List: 9 are Cultural Heritage sites, 2 are Natural Heritage sites, and 2 are Mixed Heritage sites. These sites are located across 11 regions of Peru and represent 1.9% of the country’s total surface area.
read more:https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-and-embassy-switzerland-launch-initiative-protect-perus-13-world-heritage-sites-climate-risks?hub=701
