Cash Shortage Overtakes Climate as Top Threat to Historic Sites

Lack of public money has overtaken floods, storms and wildfires as the main threat to historic places around the world.

That is the finding of a study released on 30 September by the World Monuments Fund, the heritage body behind the World Monuments Watch List, its biennial selection of at-risk cultural places chosen from public nominations. The Art Newspaper

Money is the problem. The research drew on 372 nominations for the 2027 Watch List, due to be announced in February. That total almost doubled since the previous cycle, a jump the Fund links to rising concern about the future of local landmarks, old neighbourhoods, temples, gardens and other places people visit and live around.

Of those nominators, 65% cited funding shortages and economic development as a primary challenge. That is up from 55% in 2024. By comparison, around 30% named extreme weather events such as flooding, storms, drought and wildfires as a main challenge, and around 35% pointed to a need for technical expertise.

The picture is not only about risk. More than 60% of nominators said heritage could help support local economies through sustainable tourism, urban revitalisation and the creation of jobs and specialised skills. In other words, old places could help pay their way if the early funding is found.

The Watch List has been published since 1996. It is a biennial, nomination-based programme, and the 2027 edition is being compiled by the Fund under director Bénédicte de Montlaur.

The shift in threats is striking because climate had dominated recent warnings. The Fund had previously described climate change and rapid urbanisation as top threats to heritage, and it announced more than US$15 million for climate-heritage work in January 2024. It has also built longer-term projects around gardens and landscapes adapting to a warming world.

What makes this stand out for anyone who loves to travel is how close to home the issue feels. The Fund, which says it has worked at more than 700 sites in 112 countries since 1965, traces its early work to the 1966 floods in Venice in Italy and maintains ongoing work at Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia. It says it has contributed more than US$125 million to projects at nearly 350 Watch sites. World Monuments Fund

For visitors, this means the question is less whether a beloved site will face a single dramatic disaster and more whether there will be staff, repairs and training to keep it open year after year.