The Effects of Climate Change on the Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat
While talking about climate change, one usually focuses on the tangible repercussions of the change — droughts, severe fires, storms, increase in rainfall, rising sea levels and declining biodiversity. However, one hardly touches upon the intangible effects of climate change — those which affect communities and their culture. The destruction of heritage, too, is often left out of this conversation. These discussions need to be brought to the forefront, and in that process, the voices of different communities must be involved. Considering that, this blog focuses on the loss of heritage due to climate change.
On the banks of the river Bhairab, in the modern town of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, lies the six hundred year old city of Khalifatabad. Founded by the Turkish general and Sufi saint Ulugh Khan Jahan in the 15th century, it is now known as the Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the city, one discovers several Islamic religious monuments built close to each other, which can be attributed to the pious nature of Khan Jahan. The most famous of these is the Shait-Gumbad Masjid or the Sixty Dome Mosque constructed in Tughlaq style. The mosque was used for prayers, as a madrasha or educational institution, and assembly hall. Another example of this type of architecture is Khan Jahan’s tomb, which is the only monument in the town that still retains its original cupolas or domed ceilings. The complex in Bagerhat sees thousands of visitors during the annual Urs festival. The festival marks the anniversary of the Sufi saint, and the celebrations range from Hamd (written or spoken text that praises God) to Naat (Islamic poetry in praise of the prophet Muhammad), and includes religious music such as a qawwali as well.
Apart from the Sixty Dome Mosque and Khan Jahan’s Tomb, the town is also home to four other mosques — The Nine Dome Mosque, the Singar Mosque, Ronvijoypur Mosque and the Chuna Khola Mosque. Most of these mosques consist of mihrabs adorned in floral motifs. These are niches in the walls of the mosque that point to the qiblah or the direction of Mecca. Many of the brick walls, however, are damaged due to the increasing amounts of sulphates in the air.
This is, however, not the only threat to the heritage site. The most harmful impacts of climate change include rising water and soil salinity of the nearby estuary of the Bengal delta.
This increase in salinity causes several further issues for the vulnerable communities that depend on the water, and ruin the monuments by the chemical process of efflorescence. During this process, the salt in the water migrates to the surface of a porous material and forms a coating. This causes an increase in moisture and hence aggressive weathering and disintegration over time. However, these effects are not well documented in Bagerhat.
In addition to the physical impacts of climate change, there may also be social and cultural impacts. In an article by the United Nations Association, the author writes that the loss of cultural practices due to climate change can lead to reduced community cohesion. One’s mental health, too, could be impacted as their cultural heritage is closely linked to their identity. In this respect, the deterioration of monuments may mean losing traditions that are dear to them. Over time, this can result in the loss of cultural practices that have been passed down through the generations.
So is cultural heritage in crisis due to the effects of climate change?
On the International Day for Monuments and Sites celebrated last year, UNESCO announced that one in six cultural heritage sites are currently threatened by climate change. However, describing this global issue as a crisis would perhaps be misleading. The wikipedia definition of the term is, “A time of intense difficulty or danger.” Therefore, the usage of this term would imply that the issue is urgent yet temporary, when the disregard and destruction of monuments has been a pressing matter for decades.
At the local level, communities must come together to educate one another and understand the significance of their heritage. It is only then that they can do their part in protecting it. On state and national levels, it is important now more than ever to take action towards improving the resilience of cultural heritage. This would require collaboration across different disciplines and ministries for strategies to be truly efficient. Experts recommend that actions be undertaken to fully integrate culture and cultural heritage issues into environmental sustainability and climate policy-making at all levels. This would include conducting research on the topic to be better equipped to deal with the critical issue at hand. Collating this information now would act as a repository of information for the years to come.
The citizens of Bagerhat, in order to cope with the changes to the historic monuments of the city, have implemented the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA). In this plan, developing countries describe and take action towards their most urgent and immediate needs to adapt to climate change. A more thorough investigation is taking place by the Department of Archaeology and faculty from the Khulna University to understand the changing conditions of the monuments.
While we work to protect cultural heritage, it is important to join forces with the local communities and make sure that they are involved at every step of decision-making processes.
Sources:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116382
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_5353
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/321/
https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Khalifatabad
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/pAVh2vVbOjc8_A?hl=en
https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Khan_Jahan%E2%80%99s_Tomb,_Bagerhat
