Lessons from the Past: Resilience to Climate Change: A discussion on the heritage of Kathmandu Valley (Kai Weise)

The video of this talk will be made available on the IMEMS YouTube channel at the given time.

About the talk

The factors affecting tangible heritage can be weak and constant such as humidity, or strong and instantaneous such as storms. Climate change magnifies such factors, which means that the tangible heritage is under increasing duress. When focusing on heritage, many of these tangible structures or cultural objects have survived over numerous centuries, often having to adapt to changing circumstances, and being regularly maintained and restored. The monitoring and maintenances depends on the resilience of the related communities, whether they have the means and purpose to ensure that their heritage is safeguarded. This is linked to intangible heritage; the community that uses the tangible heritage needs to monitor the heritage. The knowledge and skills of the artisans need to be retained. This presentation examine the resilience of cultural heritage in the context of the Kathmandu Valley, particularly focusing on the relationship between the tangible and the intangible.

About the speaker

Kai Weise is a Nepali national of Swiss origin and has a master's degree in Architecture from ETH Zurich. President of ICOMOS Nepal until 2021, he has worked on architecture, planning and heritage management throughout Asia. After the recent earthquakes in Nepal and Myanmar, he has specialized in reconstruction and heritage protection in post-disaster contexts. 

Recommended reading

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (2012). Understanding World Heritage in Asia and the Pacific - The Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting 2010-2012. Paris: UNESCO
• Weise, K. (Ed.). (2015). Revisiting Kathmandu: Safeguarding Living Urban Heritage- International Symposium Kathmandu Valley (25-29 November 2013). Kathmandu: UNESCO Kathmandu Office