How is Bagerhat Adapting to Climate Change?
Nature and culture conservation are needed to protect their heritage
Walkway Towards the 60 Dome Mosque in Bagerhat (2019-05) by CyArkCyArk
Southwestern Bangladesh is home to two World Heritage sites: the Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat, which is inscribed on the list for cultural values, and The Sundarbans mangrove swamps, inscribed for natural values.
Bagerhat visitorsCyArk
Climate Change impacts like increased salinity and sea-level rise affect both. These sites illustrate the need for nature and culture conservation authorities to work together, both to address common climate change issues within the shared regional natural and social ecosystems, but also to identify common issues within the mutually shared world heritage framework.
Scanning the Entrance of the 60 Dome Mosque in Bagerhat (2019-05) by CyArkCyArk
The University of Khulna has undertaken some limited sampling from the monuments, but the testing has been difficult to process due to local constraints.
Frog in Bagerhat (2019-05) by CyArkCyArk
It is surmised that increased salinity in the ground/water (perhaps driven by sea level rise) may be at play, but atmospheric conditions may also be relevant. The correlation with sea level rise is not documented.
Jennifer KhademCyArk
Jennifer Khadim, International Centre for Climate Change and Development Youth Coordinator acknowledges that "young people will face most of the challenges in the future related to climate change. So at ICCCAD we try to capacitate people in this field by making them aware of the problems and helping them find solutions."
Discover more
A Quick Guide to Bagerhat's Climate Crisis
What the Heritage of Bagerhat Means to Local People
Heritage on the Edge
Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Discover how CyArk uses 3D documentation to empower local experts.
Find out more about ICOMOS' efforts to increase engagement of cultural heritage in climate action here.
Andrew Potts, ICOMOS Working Group on Cultural Heritage and Climate Change.
This project was made possible through a collaboration between the Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
