Innovative financing strategies for the resilience of cultural landscapes. A literature and practice review

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) coastal risks are projected to increase by at least one order of magnitude over the 21st century due to committed sea level rise, impacting cultural and natural heritage in coastal areas. Amidst the urgency of climate change adaptation and mitigation, which often exceeds available public budgets, there is a growing recognition of the vital role played by innovative financing strategies and business models .

The existing body of knowledge on resilience financing for cultural heritage and landscapes is somewhat fragmented and primarily focuses on the conservation or reuse of the built heritage. Few studies addressed the financial strategies for productive cultural landscapes. Unlike conventional cultural heritage categories such as historical monuments, archaeological artefacts, and museum collections, productive cultural landscapes are dynamic socio-ecological systems. Consequently, their resilience demands a holistic approach that addresses not only the physical dimension but also ensures the continuity of underlying activities, such as agriculture, forestry, and fishery.

As part of the  “RescueMe” project – focused on equitable resilience solutions to strengthen the link between cultural landscapes and communities – this study aims to consolidate fragmented knowledge. It seeks to provide an initial state-of-the-art overview of existing financing strategies, with a specific focus on productive cultural landscapes, such as agricultural landscapes. Based on a systematic review of existing literature, databases, and drawing insights from prior projects, this study presents a thorough review of innovative financial strategies. This encompasses economic, financial, and business models that have the potential to leverage regenerative capital investments in landscape resilience.

The study reveals dominant themes and categories of financing strategies for the resilience of productive cultural landscapes. The selected innovative financial strategies will be gathered in the RescueME resilience meta-repository, to offer an integrated searchable database of solutions, elaborated jointly with the researchers from the Università di Bologna and the Conexiones improbables, with the consultation of partners representing resilience landscape laboratories (R- labscapes) of the project.

The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, businesses, and cultural institutions seeking to develop strategies for scaling up investments. This contribution is instrumental in navigating the complex landscape of innovative financing, providing actionable knowledge for sustainable and effective decision-making. The information available in the meta-repository will be accessible for reuse to a wide-range of stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers and practitioners.