Mediterranean UNESCO World Heritage at risk from coastal flooding and erosion due to sea-level rise

Lena Reimann (), Athanasios T. Vafeidis, Sally Brown, Jochen Hinkel and Richard Tol
Additional contact information
Lena Reimann: Kiel University
Athanasios T. Vafeidis: Kiel University
Sally Brown: University of Southampton
Jochen Hinkel: Global Climate Forum e.V. (GCF)

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract UNESCO World Heritage sites (WHS) located in coastal areas are increasingly at risk from coastal hazards due to sea-level rise. In this study, we assess Mediterranean cultural WHS at risk from coastal flooding and erosion under four sea-level rise scenarios until 2100. Based on the analysis of spatially explicit WHS data, we develop an index-based approach that allows for ranking WHS at risk from both coastal hazards. Here we show that of 49 cultural WHS located in low-lying coastal areas of the Mediterranean, 37 are at risk from a 100-year flood and 42 from coastal erosion, already today. Until 2100, flood risk may increase by 50% and erosion risk by 13% across the region, with considerably higher increases at individual WHS. Our results provide a first-order assessment of where adaptation is most urgently needed and can support policymakers in steering local-scale research to devise suitable adaptation strategies for each WHS.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06645-9

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