Heritage Emergency Fund

Strengthening Member States’ ability to prevent, mitigate and recover the loss of cultural heritage and diversity as a result of conflicts and disasters

Towards a Solution

In order to be able to assist governments in responding to the critical situations mentioned above and in managing disaster and conflict‐related risks to their heritage, the UNESCO established the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF).  

It is a multi-donor and non-earmarked funding mechanism established in 2015 to enable organizations to respond quickly and effectively to crises resulting from armed conflicts and disasters caused by natural and human-made hazards all over the world, with the Qatar Fund for Development as a co-founder. The Fund supports activities in UNESCO Member States, focusing in particular on:  LDCs as defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Committee for Development Policy; Lower-middle-income Countries as defined by the World Bank; Level 3 emergencies as designated by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) in consultation with the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC); and countries where a mission coordinated by the United Nations Department of Peace-Keeping Operations (UNDPKO) is based.  

The Fund contributes to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities); SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). It also contributes to the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) priority areas 5 (Human and social development) and 6 (Multiple crises and other emerging challenges).  

The Fund works on helping Member States prevent, mitigate and recover the loss of cultural heritage and diversity in emergencies and by advocating for the incorporation of the protection of culture into humanitarian action, security strategies and peace-building processes, including by harnessing the potential of culture to strengthen resilience and support recovery. 

The Fund finances activities in the area of emergency preparedness and response within the domains of the UNESCO Culture Conventions. This includes immovable cultural and natural heritage, movable cultural heritage, cultural repositories, underwater cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage and the diversity of cultural goods.  

HEF fills a strategic gap, as it supports critical interventions that rely upon funding immediately available and in standby and that in consequence cannot be sustained under traditional financing mechanisms, which are based on time‐consuming planning processes. By filling this gap, the HEF acts as a catalyst for further funding, as those interventions provide the necessary baseline information for the development of recovery projects. 

The programme supports short‐term small‐scale activities in three main areas:  

1. Preparedness  

Typical activities include:     

• Provision of technical assistance for the implementation of emergency preparedness and risk mitigation interventions on cultural heritage and diversity  
• Development of capacity‐reinforcement materials on the implementation of emergency preparedness and risk mitigation interventions on cultural heritage and diversity   
• Organization of training workshops in different Regions, on the implementation of emergency preparedness and risk mitigation interventions on cultural heritage and diversity, for professionals in cultural heritage as well as disaster risk reduction, crisis response and emergency management, including women  
• Development of studies on cultural heritage and diversity in emergencies  
• Development or update and dissemination of awareness‐raising materials on culture in emergencies  
• Advocacy for the importance to protect and promote cultural heritage and diversity in emergencies at information and statutory meetings, or promotional and fund‐raising events.  

2. Response   

Activities in the context of response include:    

• Deployment of rapid assessment and advisory missions, including Post‐Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNA) and Recovery and Peace‐Building Assessments (RPBA)  
• Implementation of urgent interventions on the ground  
• Implementation of Post‐Conflict or Post‐Disaster training activities targeting professionals in cultural heritage as well as disaster risk management, crisis response and emergency management, including women  
• Temporary staff support to UNESCO Field Offices for emergency response.   

3. Mobilization of resources  

• Development or update and dissemination of promotional and fundraising materials related to the Heritage Emergency Fund  

The Fund provided assistance to a number of LDCs. For example, in Nepal, the HEF provided technical assistance on a number of ongoing restoration projects after the devastating earthquake in 2015.  This also included the hiring of specialists including restoration architects, IT professionals, structural engineers, conservation specialists and archaeologists, among others – to undertake the implementation of key activities in support of the post-earthquake recovery process. In Yemen, the Fund also supported the emergency monitoring via satellite imagery of cultural heritage sites to assess and analyse the damage. 

The HEF fulfilled its mandate to support critical interventions that cannot be sustained under traditional financing mechanisms. The Fund notably demonstrated its added value by filling a strategic gap: covering the critical needs that arise between the occurrence of an emergency and the implementation of long-term recovery projects, through short-term, first-aid activities.