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- Project to address climate change threats to natural and
cultural heritage sites around the world
- New global effort aligns with Manulife's Impact Agenda,
including an ambition to accelerate a sustainable future
TORONTO, Dec. 8, 2022
/CNW/ - Manulife today announced a new partnership with the
National Geographic Society to safeguard several
historical and culturally significant heritage sites from
the impacts of climate change and to protect the physical,
cultural, and financial well-being of the communities that
depend on those sites for their livelihood and connection to
their past.
Manulife partners with the National
Geographic Society to safeguard world heritage sites from climate
change impacts
Climate change impacts including flooding, heatwaves, and sea
level rise can lead to damaged ecosystems and infrastructure, yet
these impacts differ between locations and communities. The new
Preserving Legacies: A Future for Our Past project
will help communities share knowledge and create plans to safeguard
their heritage sites and the values that these sites hold. The
project's initial scope comprises ten heritage sites around the
world, many of which are a major source of economic and
cultural resilience for communities.
Preserving Legacies is a collaborative
project between local communities, site management teams, and the
International Council on Monuments and Sites, brought together by
National Geographic Explorer Victoria
Herrmann. This project draws upon scientific and local
knowledge to find sustainable and culturally appropriate solutions
to the long-term preservation of iconic cultural, heritage sites.
These teams will produce downscaled climate change impact models,
climate literacy programs, and climate adaptation plans to ensure
that these sites, and the values they embody, survive for future
generations. As part of Manulife's Impact Agenda, this project will
also focus on network building between sites, where knowledge
sharing will be key to developing climate change adaptation
plans.
"With this new partnership between Manulife and the National
Geographic Society, we will work together to increase access to
climate adaptation for cultural heritage sites and transform
conservation as a field to meet the challenges of a climate-changed
world," said Victoria Herrmann,
National Geographic Explorer. "Our ambitious approach to addressing
the critical issues around climate change will lead to tangible
protection of cultural heritage sites and meaningful community
impact."
"As a health and wealth company with a 130-year history serving
customers, colleagues, and communities across the globe it's
important we work to protect our environment and drive inclusive
economic opportunities to create a more even playing field for
all," said Sarah Chapman, Global
Chief Sustainability Officer, Manulife. "Through our partnership
with National Geographic, we have an opportunity to equip
communities throughout the world with the tools to better
anticipate worsening climate impacts and safeguard the sites for
the future."
Using local weather data, downscaled climate models give
every historic site a way to visualize how much flooding,
heatwaves, sea level rise, and changing seasonality will threaten
their sites, values, and livelihoods in different warming
scenarios. This allows community leaders and site managers to
answer critical questions about which climate impacts they should
plan for and when they are likely to experience them. This project
will also support continued community adaptation through peer
mentoring programs and educational materials to inspire and engage
future generations.
The ten heritage sites included in this project
include:
- Petra, Jordan
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Philippines
- Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia
- Border Fields, USA and
Mexico
- Historical Mosque City of Bagerhat, Bangladesh
- Nan Madol, Micronesia
- Levuka, Fiji
- Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, Togo and Benin
- Sceilg Mhichíl, Ireland
- Port, Fortress, and Group of Monuments at Cartagena, Columbia
This new global effort supports Manulife's Impact Agenda, which
aims to build a better business to better the world by making
decisions about the future of the firm's business, rooted in the
belief that our collective actions drive meaningful change. To
learn more about the commitments made by Manulife through its
Impact Agenda, and to track progress against our goals,
visit Manulife.com/Impact.
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international
financial services provider, helping people make their decisions
easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in
Toronto, Canada, we provide
financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across
Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the
United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the
global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we
serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members
worldwide. At the end of 2021, we had more than 38,000 employees,
over 119,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners,
serving over 33 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the
Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges
and under '945' in Hong Kong.
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SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation