Withstanding change

Supported by the INTO project team, our international partners will restore six historic sites that are threatened by climate change

The project

Between 2022 – 2025, and with £1.6 million in funding from the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, INTO has launched a programme of climate-related activity in partnership with organisations across the Middle East and Africa.

Supported by the INTO project team, our international partners will restore six historic sites that are threatened by climate change.

The approach

The selected sites are all culturally significant, and their restoration will serve a long-term purpose.

Exhibitions installed at each property will engage local communities, sharing the knowledge gained throughout the project.

Public access will be at the heart of each intervention, promoting shared accountability for heritage conservation, and a greater understanding of the effects of climate change.

Partnerships

To help achieve this each site will be paired with a National Trust property in the United Kingdom, as part of a study visit in the Spring of 2023.

The platform for knowledge sharing that African, Middle Eastern and British colleagues build together will live long after the initial phase of the project has ended.

A selection of the partners and sites involved in the project are showcased here.

Partners

Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation

Bayt al-Razzaz is a rare example of a late 15th century private dwelling in historic Cairo. Existing conservation challenges have been exacerbated by more extreme and less predictable rainfall patterns. Flash flooding resulted in the collapse of a younger neighbouring building, causing collateral damage to the site.

Heritage Watch Ethiopia Association

The Tsegereda Gardens once formed part of the grounds of then crown prince Asfa Wossen’s residence. Stabilisation of this building and restoration of the Tsegereda Gardens, will showcase Ethiopian horticultural knowledge and demonstrate how indigenous ecological solutions can directly address climate change.

Zanzibar Stonetown Heritage Society

The Old Customs House is a typical Omani mansion constructed in 1865. More intense winds and wave activity, rising sea level, warming oceans, humidity and sea evaporation – all exacerbated by climate change – are posing new, and compounding old conservation challenges.

Petra National Trust

By restoring the historic Al-Khader cultural building, Petra National Trust will address the impact of climate damage on heritage buildings. By the re-greening of parts of the surrounding landscape, they will build on existing initiatives, strengthening livelihoods for the local community.