A/75/298 38. Movement away from homelands results in removal from people ’s tangible cultural heritage (and often damage or disappearance of that heritage), but also threatens the maintenance of cultural practices that may be linked to certain sites or natural resources, such as the land, and the possibility of caring for heritage. The conservation and transmission of such intangible cultural heritage must also be considered. Moreover, analogous to the impact of destruction during armed conflict, the damage and destruction of cultural heritage when those most closely connected to it are suffering from other severe impacts of climate change also takes away a key cultural resource that can build resilience, preserve memory and identities and help these people cope. 39. Sadly, some heritage losses due to climate change are now inevitable. That must be handled in rights-respecting ways. Other losses can and must be prevented. Damage to heritage must be systematically surveyed. Future losses must be predicted and strategies developed to prevent and respond to them in a participatory and inclusive manner. 40. Heritage losses should be commemorated in ways that preserve memory and knowledge, make creative use of culture, create memory reservoirs and anchor points 69 and spur preventive action. 70 Possibilities include farewell ceremonies and opportunities for visiting submerged sites. It will also be essential to find creative, appropriate methods for maintaining certain traditions and living heritage, as well as creating new traditions aiming at maintaining memory, including in diasporas, especially in the face of large-scale losses. This can also help overcome discrimination, including in the cultural sphere, and loss of identity, that migrants may face. 71 A participatory, inclusive human rights approach will be essential, “ensuring that decisions to accept loss are transparent and take a people-centred approach and that local communities have a voice in deciding which sites should be prioritized and which losses are acceptable.” 72 41. The following considerations must be carefully borne in mind: “climate ch ange requires difficult choices. The sheer scale of loss and damage threatened… must be considered in the context of climate justice and equity. For example, priorities must be established to determine which sites can be saved or protected and those in whi ch documentation or archaeological salvage and research can be carried out. There is a danger that climate action may be undertaken in ways that perpetuate existing inequalities, including in the context of heritage.” 73 B. Cultural diversity and cultural survival 42. In addition to the effects on cultural heritage, “climate change is likely to affect cultural diversity and socio-cultural interactions by forcing communities to change their work habits and ways of life, to compete for resources or to mi grate elsewhere.” 74 According to the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, “A source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature.” 75 Nonetheless, the impact of climate change on the diversity of cultural expressions is under-assessed. 76 __________________ 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 12/23 The Future of Our Pasts (see footnote 29), p. 41. See A/HRC/25/49. See contribution by South American Network for Environmental Migrations (Resama). The Future of Our Pasts, p. 42. Ibid., p. 20. Climate Change as a Threat to Peace, p. 13. UNESCO, Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, art. 1. See contribution by UNESCO. 20-10595