An application of the Climate Vulnerability Index for the Sukur cultural landscape, Nigeria

Day, Jon C., Heron, Scott F., Odiaua, Ishanlosen, Downes, Jane, Itua, Eugene, Lass Abdu, Aliyu, Ekwurzel, Brenda and Sham, Anthony (2022) An application of the Climate Vulnerability Index for the Sukur cultural landscape, Nigeria. Project Report. ICOMOS Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria, 60p. ISBN 978-2-918086-83-3. [Book]

[img]
Preview
PDF
CVI Sukur Report English.pdf
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike.

Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract (in English)

Climate change is a major risk to World Heritage (WH) and many sites are already experiencing impacts from climate change related hazards. As the climate crisis intensifies, the need to understand the vulnerability of heritage sites becomes urgent. This report outlines the results of applying the Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) to Sukur Cultural Landscape, a WH property in northeastern Nigeria. The CVI methodology is a technique to assess rapidly the vulnerability of cultural and natural WH by identifying realised and potential impacts of climate change to both Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and the associated community. The application of the CVI for Sukur provided many important precedents, being the first time that the CVI was applied in an African WH property and in a cultural landscape-inscribed property. It was also the first using a ‘blended workshop’ format whereby most workshop participants were at the American University of Nigeria in Yola, whilst other participants joined the workshop online. The CVI workshop took place 19th-24th September 2021 and involved site managers, academics, community representatives, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and responsible management agencies. The workshop was preceded by preparatory webinars examining key values, climate change, and economic and social information. For the CVI, six key values were drawn from the Sukur Statement of OUV, recognising the: exceptional cultural landscape; ancient settlement that still flourishes; Hidi spirituality; traditional indigenous architecture; cultural continuity/living culture; and iron smelting technology. Within the CVI process, participants selected the year 2050 as the future timescale on which to assess vulnerability. Under a high-emissions scenario (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway, SSP5-8.5) in which greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase through fossil-fuel based social and economic development, annual average daily-maximum temperature is projected to increase by 1.1-1.4°C (ca. 2050) from the historical period (1995-2014). By mid-century, an additional 1-1.5 months of hot days (>35°C) are projected to occur each year, compared with the historical period. Annual rainfall for the region is projected to increase by 7-11% (ca. 2050) from the historical period, with rainfall during the wettest 5-day period showing a similar increase (10- 17%). The mid-century projected annual maximum number of consecutive dry days is consistent with the historical period (136 days). Participants identified the three climate stressors likely to have the greatest impact on the OUV for Sukur as: • Drought (severity, duration, frequency); • Temperature trend (air); and • Storm intensity and frequency. An example of actual and further potential impact of drought and increased temperature is desertification which has reportedly led to plant biodiversity loss, in turn affecting the availability of vegetation for traditional construction. It was determined that the OUV Vulnerability for Sukur Cultural Landscape was Low, indicating that while some loss of some attributes is expected to occur, it is unlikely to cause persistent or lasting effects on the OUV of the property. The Community Vulnerability was assessed as Low, acknowledging the high level of adaptive capacity within the community. It was concluded the changes that might be expected over the next 30 years (ca. 2050 scenario) may not have a big effect on the values that convey the OUV of the property or upon the Sukur community in terms of the potential impact upon economic, social and cultural connections to those values. The application of the CVI for Sukur demonstrated the value of the process for cultural properties in identifying key points of vulnerability to climate change as well as opportunities to manage impacts to both the landscape and the associated community.

Item Type: Book (Project Report)
Authors:
Authors
Email
Day, Jon C.
UNSPECIFIED
Heron, Scott F.
UNSPECIFIED
Odiaua, Ishanlosen
UNSPECIFIED
Downes, Jane
UNSPECIFIED
Itua, Eugene
UNSPECIFIED
Lass Abdu, Aliyu
UNSPECIFIED
Ekwurzel, Brenda
UNSPECIFIED
Sham, Anthony
UNSPECIFIED
Languages: English, Hausa
Keywords: cultural landscape; Nigeria; conservation; Climate Vulnerability Index; climate change; risk factors; drought
Subjects: E. CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 06. Cultural Landscapes
G. DETERIORATION > 03. Climate change
H. HERITAGE TYPOLOGIES > 06. Cultural landscapes
M. WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION > 03. World Heritage List
M. WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION > 08. Monitoring
P. GEOGRAPHIC AREAS > 02. Africa
Name of monument, town, site, museum: Sukur, Nigeria
UNESCO WHC Number: 938
National Committee: Nigeria
Number of Pages: 60
ISBN: 978-2-918086-83-3
Depositing User: ICOMOS DocCentre
Date Deposited: 15 Jun 2022 10:02
Last Modified: 08 Feb 2024 14:32
References: Barkindo, B.M. (1985). Political centralization in the south of Borno: the case of Sukur in the 18th and 19th centuries. Evolution of political culture in Nigeria, J.F.A. Ajayi and B. Ikara (eds.), 50-66. Ibadan: University Press Ltd.

Costanza R., Fisher B., Ali S., Beer C., Bond L., Boumans R., Danigelis N.L., Dickinson J., ...et al. (2007) Quality of life: An approach integrating opportunities, human needs, and subjective well-being, Ecological Economics 61: 267–276.

Day, J.C., Heron S.F. & Markham A. (2020). Assessing the climate vulnerability of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. Parks Stewardship Forum, 36, 144–153.

David, N. (1996). A new political form? The classless industrial society of Sukur (Nigeria). In Aspects of African archaeology. Papers from the 10th Congress of the PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and Related Studies, G. Pwiti, and R. Soper (eds.), 593-600. Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications.

David, N. and J. Sterner. (1995). Constructing a historical ethnography of Sukur, part I: demystification. Nigerian Heritage 4: 11-33.

David, N. & Sterner, J. (1996). Constructing a historical ethnography of Sukur, part II: the ‘classless industrial’ society. Nigerian Heritage 5: 11-33.

Ezra A., Martins I.K & Mayomi I. (2020). Evaluation of Drought Pattern, Duration and Intensity in Northern Nigeria, Jalingo Journal of Social and Management Sciences, 2, 194-211.

Federal Ministry of Environment. (2020). Third national communication of the federal republic of Nigeria under the United Nations framework convention on climate change. Abuja: Author.

Heron, S.F., Day J.C., Cowell C., Scott P.R., Walker D., Shaw J. (2020) Application of the Vulnerability Index Shark Bay, Western Australia. Western Australian Marine Science Institution, Perth, Western Australia, 80pp. www.wamsi.org.au/cvi-shark-bay.

ICOMOS (2017). [International Council on Monuments and Sites]. Resolution 19GA 2017/30 – Mobilizing ICOMOS and the cultural heritage community to help meet the challenge of climate change. 19th General Assembly of ICOMOS, 2017. https://www.icomos.org/images/DOCUMENTS/General_Assemblies/19th_Delhi_2017/19th_G A_Outcomes/GA2017_Resolutions_EN_20180206finalcirc.pdf

ICOMOS (2019). [International Council on Monuments and Sites]. The Future of our Pasts: Engaging Cultural Heritage in Climate Action: Report of the ICOMOS Workings Group on Climate Change and Cultural Heritage. https://indd.adobe.com/view/a9a551e3-3b23-4127-99fd-a7a80d91a29e

IPCC (2007). Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change. M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, eds. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

IPCC (2018). Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5o C IPCC, 2018: Annex I: Glossary [Matthews, J.B.R. (ed.)]. In: Global Warming of 1.5° C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, .... and T. Waterfield (eds.)].

IPCC (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press.

IPCC (2022). Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press.

Marshall N.A., Thiault L., Beeden A., Beeden R., Benham C., Curnock M.I., Diedrich A., Gurney G.G., Jones L., Marshall P.A., Nakamura N., Pert P. (2019). Our Environmental Value Orientations Influence How We Respond to Climate Change, Front. Psychol. 10: 938.

National Commission for Museums and Monuments (1998). Nomination of Sukur Cultural Landscape. Federal Government of Nigeria.

National Commission for Museums and Monuments (2016). Sukur Cultural Landscape Conservation Management Plan 2017-2021.

National Commission for Museums and Monuments (2019). State of Conservation for Sukur World Heritage Site 2019 http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/938/documents/

Odiaua, I. (2013). Sukur Cultural Landscape: defining earth architecture in a rocky environment. In Earthern architecture in today’s world. Proceedings of the UNESCO International Colloquium on the Conservation of World Heritage Earthern Architecture, Paris 17-18 2012, Paris. World Heritage Papers 36: 80-88.

Panthou, G., Vischel, T. & Lebel, T. (2014). Recent trends in the regime of extreme rainfall in the Central Sahel. Int. J. Climatol. 34, 3998–4006.

Pham-Duc, B., Sylvestre, F., Papa, F., Frappart, F., Bouchet, C., Cretaux, J-F. (2020). The Lake Chad hydrology under current climate change. Sci Rep 10, 5498. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62417-w

Sassoon, H. (1964). Iron smelting in the hill village of Sukur, north eastern Nigeria. Man (64): 174-8.

Smith, A. and N. David. (1995). The production of space and the house of Xidi Sukur. Current Anthropology 36 (3): 441-71.

UNESCO (1972). Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. https://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/

UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2004). Linking Universal and Local Values: Managing a Sustainable Future for World Heritage. Paris,

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (World Heritage Papers 13) http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_wh_papers_13_en.pdf

UNESCO (2021). World Heritage 44 COM Item 10 of the Provisional Agenda: Periodic Reports 10B: Report on the results of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting exercise in Africa http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2021/whc21-44com-10B-en.pdf

World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP): Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 6 (CMIP6)
URI: https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2657

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Metadata

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

© ICOMOS
https://www.icomos.org/en
documentation(at)icomos.org