Is it possible to protect cultural heritage during a war? And if so, how can it be done meaningfully and effectively?

I often return to these questions. They sit at the core of my PhD research, yet they remain challenging. With a background in economics, I’ve been trained to think in terms of trade-offs, choices that come with costs, and in a war zone, the cost of prioritizing heritage is high. When people’s lives are at risk, and access, security, and resources are so limited, how can heritage protection be meaningfully carried out?

The article “Beyond the Rubble: Civil Society Organizations’ Emergency Response to Protect Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas“ engages with these dilemmas, not only by highlighting the ethical and operational tensions, but by critically examining the operational responses undertaken and their outcomes. Focusing on the work of Heritage for Peace (H4P), a Spain-based NGO dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage in conflict and crisis zones, I explore, together with Dr. Isber Sabrine, co-founder and president of H4P, how civil society organizations have emerged as essential actors in protecting heritage during crises in Syria, Sudan, and Gaza.

The core argument is that while physical protection is often limited during high-intensity conflict, much can still be done, especially when local communities are empowered. H4P’s approach focuses on long-term relationships and local capacity-building. Their work begins before disaster strikes: reconnecting people with their heritage, building skills, and preparing communities to respond. This long-term investment pays off: in places like Sudan, where local volunteers were able to rapidly assess and document damage to cultural heritage during the outbreak of conflict in 2023. Despite immense challenges on the ground, civil society actors mobilized to gather information, raise awareness, and protect what they could, demonstrating how local capacity and prior engagement can make a difference, even in the most volatile contexts.

Gaza brings this work to its most extreme test. During the Israeli aggression that began in October 2023, and which continues to this day, volunteers risked their lives under constant bombardment to assess damage to more than 100 heritage sites. Their findings formed the basis of a report H4P released in November 2023. The report didn’t stop the destruction, but it made the losses visible and told a story that might otherwise have been erased. In this sense, documentation is more than a technical exercise, it’s an act of resistance and care. It fosters solidarity internationally and it opens doors to future accountability. And in a context where violations continue in plain sight, documentation becomes an urgent refusal to let devastation pass in impunity.

At the end of the day, the real challenge lies in how to support and strengthen local actors as the future stewards of recovery. Investing in local relationships, transferring skills, and building trust are essential steps to ensure that those who live among the ruins are not just passive witnesses to destruction, but empowered participants in the rebuilding of their heritage, communities, and futures.

“Beyond the Rubble: Civil Society Organizations’ Emergency Response to Protect Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas“, by Eva Licci and Isber Sabrine, is out now open access in the special issue (13/1) of SAA journal Advances in Archaeological Practice – ‘Caring for Culture in the Twenty-First Century’.