Google Arts & Culture Documents Five UNESCO Sites Threatened by Climate Change

Google Arts & Culture has launched Heritage on Edge, a project to digitally document five UNESCO World Heritage sites threatened by climate change. The initiative, in collaboration with nonprofit CyArk, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), and local experts, involved photographing, measuring, and collecting documentation at Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Kilwa Kisiwani (Tanzania), Edinburgh (Scotland), the Mosque City of Bagerhat (Bangladesh), and the ancient city of Chan Chan (Peru). The team used photogrammetry, 3D scanning, aerial drone videos, and interviews with locals and experts. The resulting materials are available on a dedicated website, featuring fifty online exhibitions, two augmented reality models, twenty-five detailed 3D models, and six 360-degree tours built with Google Street View technology. Data is freely downloadable for researchers worldwide. ICOMOS President Toshiyuki Kono called the project a "call to action," emphasizing that cultural heritage sites are more than tourist destinations—they hold national, spiritual, and cultural significance. The project highlights loss but also hope and resilience.