Publications

For ethical reasons, the conservation of cultural heritage is a duty for all nations. Slowly, decision makers are beginning to understand that caring about cultural heritage and especially about museums, library and archival collections is a valuable long-term investment for their economy and in the interest of their citizens. The accessibility of movable heritage depends not only on its direct conservation but also on preventive conservation because the quality of the indoor environment is crucial for the preservation of a collection. Sensitive materials, displayed in an aggressive environment may suffer from chemical attack of pollutants, leading to irreversible damage after only a few weeks of inappropriate exposure.

The interpretation of results on the impact of pollutants on the degradation of artifacts and consequently, any appropriate measure to prevent damage, requires close collaboration between multidisciplinary key players: chemist concerned with environmental effects and material degradation, physicists concerned with microclimate and physical deterioration mechanism, conservators, conservation scientist, art historians, curators, environmental engineers, show case manufacturers, and even politicians and decision makers concerned with international standards.

Forests are an essential element of the European cultural, geographical and environmental landscapes. They cover approximately one third of Europe’s land area, and their role in water provision is even more pivotal, as forested landscapes are the preferred sources for generation, storage and export of drinking water to supply the human population.