Role of cultural heritage conservation for reaching the sustainable development goals (SGDs): An interdisciplinary approach

Abstract

The relationship between cultural heritage and sustainable development has been on the agenda of many related stakeholders for many years. Thus, cultural heritage was introduced into the sustainable development agenda in September 2015, being emphasized within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN). Believing in this relationship, this paper focuses on capacities and limitations of various disciplines in reaching SDGs through cultural heritage conservation and management (CHC&M). The paper argues that we need innovative and transformative strategies and policies for the conservation and management of cultural heritage to be able to reach UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This requires a strong collaboration among various disciplines, primarily architecture, urban design, urban and regional planning - kin disciplines - as well as economics, geography, demography, and urban sociology. The research presented in this paper is based on a thorough literature review on sustainable development, SDGs, cultural heritage, and conservation and management of cultural heritage with an aim to put forward an interdisciplinary approach for CHC&M which will then lead to reaching SDGs. With this aim in mind, the research identifies the actual one to-one relationship between SDGs and CHC&M, while emphasizing the role of each kin discipline on CHC&M and sustainable development through a critical analysis.