Heritage under Siege: Comparative Perspectives on Vandalism, Climate Change and Global Inequality in Nigeria and Iran

Heritage in Nigeria and Iran is increasingly caught in a difficult tension. Sites and objects are celebrated as evidence of historical depth, collective memory and cultural identity, yet the same heritage is often exposed to climate stress, insecurity, vandalism, urban pressure and unequal systems of governance. This article examines that tension through four case studies: the Sukur Cultural Landscape and the National Museum in Benin City in Nigeria, and the Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex and Pina Shalvar Cemetery in Iran. Bringing together critical theory, postcolonial critique and environmental justice, it asks how heritage becomes “under siege” when ecological, political and economic pressures overlap. The study draws on qualitative fieldwork, semi-structured interviews, field observation, document analysis and critical discourse analysis. It argues that heritage should not be approached as a passive inheritance from the past, but as a contested field in which memory, power, ownership and survival are continually negotiated. The comparison shows that local communities are not only witnesses to heritage loss; they are also custodians whose knowledge exposes the limits of global heritage regimes. Heritage protection, therefore, cannot be reduced to technical conservation. It also requires ecological care, cultural justice and more democratic forms of participation.

Cultural heritage; climate change; vandalism; global inequality; environmental justice

1. Aboulnaga M, Abouaiana A, Puma P, Elsharkawy M, Farid M, Gamal S and Lucchi E (2024) Climate change and cultural heritage: a global mapping of the UNESCO thematic indicators in conjunction with advanced technologies for cultural sustainability. Sustainability 16(11): 4650. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Adetunji O and Daly C (2024) Climate risk management in cultural heritage for inclusive adaptation actions in Nigeria. Heritage 7(3): 1237–1264. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Adewumi AA (2024) Return of Benin objects to Nigeria: perceptions and the law. Santander Art and Culture Law Review 10(2): 209–226. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Aga Khan Development Network (n.d.) Rehabilitation of Tabriz Bazaar. Available at: https://the.akdn/en/how-we-work/our-agencies/aga-khan-trust-culture/akaa/rehabilitation-tabriz-bazaar (accessed 30 April 2026). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Akintayo AM (n.d.) In danger and endangered: preliminary investigation of Sukur Cultural Landscape in northeast Nigeria. German Archaeological Institute. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Anthropomorphic gravestone at Pineh Shalvar (Shadabad-e Mashayekh) Cemetery, Tabriz, Iran [Photograph figure 4]. (n.d.). Photographer unknown. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. British Museum (2026) Benin Bronzes. Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes (accessed 30 April 2026). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Calise A (2024) Digital restitution of expropriated heritage: technological aesthetics and the Benin Bronzes. Itinera. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Eriksen, T. H. (2016). Overheating: An anthropology of accelerated change. Pluto Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Esmaili Sangari H (2024) Shenasayi-ye mo'allefeh-ha-ye kelidi-ye boomi-ye mo'asser bar modiriyat-e bohran-e atash-souzi dar bazarha-ye tarikhi-ye Irani-Islami: motale'eh-ye moredi, Bazar-e Tarikhi-ye Tabriz [Identifying local key components affecting fire-crisis management in Iranian-Islamic historic bazaars: the case of Tabriz Historic Bazaar]. Urban Economics and Management 12(47): 71–90. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Fahmi A (2022) Fire risk management in Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex as a UNESCO World Heritage Site: 2009–2019 experiences. Journal of Emergency Management 20(5): 443–459. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Golkarian S (2021) Cultural challenges between local and western commercial typologies: case study, Tabriz Bazaar based on Ahi Evran culture. Milli Folklor 33(132): 199–214. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Guest G, Bunce A and Johnson L (2006) How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods 18(1): 59-82. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Habermas J (1984) The Theory of Communicative Action. Beacon Press: Boston. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Hall S (1999) Whose heritage? Un-settling “the heritage”, re-imagining the post-nation. Third Text 13(49): 3–13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Harrison, R. (2013). Heritage: Critical approaches. Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Hennink M and Kaiser BN (2022) Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine 292: 114523. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Herzfeld, M. (2004). The body impolitic: Artisans and artifice in the global hierarchy of value. University of Chicago Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Hicks, D. (2020). The brutish museums: The Benin Bronzes, colonial violence and cultural restitution. Pluto Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. ICOMOS (2022) Heritage, Climate Justice and Equity. International Council on Monuments and Sites: Paris. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. ICOMOS (2024) Climate Vulnerability Index Africa: Sukur Cultural Landscape, Nigeria. ICOMOS: Paris. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Kalan AM (2014) Sustainable architecture of the Bazaar of Tabriz and its relation to social and cultural aspects. International Journal of Architectural Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Lowenthal D (1998) The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Mbembe A (2001) On the Postcolony. University of California Press: Berkeley. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Megarry W, Downes J, Bugumba R, Day JC, Mbogelah M, Odiaua I and Heron SF (2024) Values, climate change and community: results and lessons learned from the application of the climate vulnerability index in Tanzania and Nigeria. Journal of Cultural Heritage 66: 562–571. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Meskell, L. (2018). A future in ruins: UNESCO, world heritage, and the dream of peace. Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Morin E and Kern AB (2020) Homeland Earth: A Manifesto for the New Millennium. Hampton Press: Cresskill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Nguyen KN and Baker S (2023) Climate change and UNESCO World Heritage-listed cultural properties: a systematic review, 2008–2021. Heritage 6(3): 2394–2420. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Oladipo OS (2024) Disaster and conflict management strategy for sustainable conservation of heritage resources. Journal of Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences 9(4). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Pugh C (2025) Echoes of history: legacies of the Benin Bronzes and restitution within the Black Atlantic. Journal of African History. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Robbins P (2012) Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Sadeghi, A. (2019, May 9). Fire damage at the historic Tabriz Bazaar following the fire of 8 May 2019 [Photograph figure 3]. Fars News Agency. CC BY 4.0. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Said EW (1978) Orientalism. Pantheon Books: New York. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Shibayan D (2025) Netherlands returns 119 looted artifacts known as Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. Associated Press, 21 June. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Shirvani Dastgerdi A, Sargolini M and Pierantoni I (2019) Climate change challenges to existing cultural heritage policy. Sustainability 11(19): 5227. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Smith L (2006) Uses of Heritage. Routledge: London. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2010) Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1346/ (accessed 30 April 2026). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2021) Decision 44 COM 7B.10: Sukur Cultural Landscape (Nigeria). Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/7728/ (accessed 30 April 2026). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2025) Nigeria – Sukur Cultural Landscape: World Heritage Volunteers initiative documentation. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Paris. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. UNESCO World Heritage Centre (1999) Sukur Cultural Landscape. Available at: [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/938/ (accessed 30 April 2026). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. World Monuments Fund (2018) Sukur Cultural Landscape. Available at: [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. https://www.wmf.org/monuments/sukur-cultural-landscape (accessed 30 April 2026). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Zeinalpour Asl M, Talebian MH and Amini M (2022) Dastur al-amal-ha-ye hefazat az miras-e me'mari dar movajeh ba savaneh-ye atash-souzi; ba takiyeh bar rahnamud-ha va tajareb-e jahani [Instructions for the conservation of architectural heritage in the face of fire disasters: relying on international guidelines and experiences]. Honar-ha-ye Ziba: Memari va Shahrsazi 27(2): 47–59. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study