In a new study released by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) this week, the nonprofit found that insufficient public funding is the primary threat to heritage sites around the world. It continues to surpass climate hazards and expertise gaps.
The research was conducted as part of the organization’s larger nomination process for its forthcoming 2027 World Monuments Watch list, slated to be announced in February. Since 1996, WMF has published the list every two years in an effort to address funding gaps in cultural preservation. The 2027 list has received 372 nominations, nearly double the figure it got in 2025.
A total of 65 percent of those 372 nominators cited funding shortages and economic development as a primary challenge, which has increased from 55 percent in 2024.
“This year’s nominations show that pressures on heritage are intensifying as funding, capacity, and expertise struggle to keep pace,” WMF president and chief executive Bénédicte de Montlaur said in a statement. “According to findings in the UNESCO Global Report on Cultural Policies, only one in four countries has the means to safeguard its heritage. Communities are being asked to do more with less as climate change accelerates, and the skills needed to care for these places are being lost. These findings are a call to action, and they will help guide where our work is needed most.”
As global pressures such as climate change and war continue to escalate, De Montlaur told The Art Newspaper, “We are seeing governments, particularly in Europe and the US (which have been some of the most supportive of heritage preservation), reducing or stopping national and international funding for public resources.” He added, “In that environment, culture and heritage are often among the first to face cuts.”
De Montlaur further emphasized broadening funding through partnerships with individuals, foundations, and corporations at the international level. “The most promising models bring the public sector together with governments and local communities, and highlight how heritage intersects with economic development, climate change, tourism management and other important societal issues beyond the cultural field,” he said.
While cuts to heritage can offer short-term savings, the study argues that heritage is deeply connected to long-term economic resilience and such cuts create greater socioeconomic losses over time. As such, more than 60 percent of nominators identified opportunities for heritage sites to support local economies through sustainable tourism, urban revitalization, and job creation.
Lack of technical expertise is the second highest issue plaguing heritage sites at roughly 35 percent, per this year’s nominators. This gap underscores the importance of training the next generation in conservation and traditional craftmaking.
The third largest issue affecting heritage sites, coming in around 30 percent, per the study, was extreme weather events like flooding, storms, droughts, and wildfires. It is notably most severe in sub-Saharan Africa. For sites in both the Middle East and Africa, conflict and peace-building are also among these top concerns.
“Preserving heritage is not only about restoring monuments; it is about safeguarding the stories and landmarks that connect generations,” Clément Rouxel, general delegate of the AXA Foundation for Human Progress, said in a statement.
UNESCO has approved an average of $1 million per year in international assistance funds to World Heritage sites, now totaling 1,273, since 1978.
“The key challenges identified through WMF’s Watch nomination analysis—such as severe underfunding and escalating climate hazards—pose serious risks not only to our global heritage but to the communities that care for them,” said Brinda Somaya, chair of the World Monuments Watch International Expert Panel. “Many of these sites carry within them the memory, resilience, and identity of the communities associated with them. Their protection therefore goes beyond the conservation of a place; it calls for thoughtful advocacy, technical expertise, resources, and partnerships that can help sustain their significance for the future.”
