Community‑Led Heritage Management in the Face of Climate Change: The Tuvalu Digital Repository for Cultural Heritage

Annette Kühlem1*, Taukiei Kitara2, Benjamin Ducke1, Constanze Dupont3, and Christian Reepmeyer1

The Tuvalu Digital Repository for Cultural Heritage is an initiative aimed at safeguarding Tuvalu’s cultural heritage through digital documentation and community‑based knowledge management. As a low‑lying Pacific island state, Tuvalu faces severe challenges from climate change, including sea‑level rise, intensifying extreme weather events, and increasing emigration. These processes threaten not only the physical landscape but also the continuity of cultural knowledge that is closely tied to islands, places, and social contexts. At the same time, Tuvalu lacks national museum infrastructures, while traditional modes of knowledge transmission are increasingly challenged by emigration from the islands to Funafuti and abroad. The repository addresses these challenges by creating a digital space where cultural knowledge, practices, and both tangible and intangible heritage can be preserved, researched, shared, and revitalised across islands, generations, and the global Tuvaluan diaspora. A central principle of the project is community governance: the structure of the database, its categories, and metadata systems are based on Tuvaluan knowledge systems and cultural logics. Particular attention is given to the respectful management of sensitive or restricted knowledge, which may be digitally preserved but made accessible only to authorised knowledge holders. The repository was developed through an extensive consultation process with communities across Tuvalu, during which a direct collaboration between Tuvaluan participants and software developers allowed the database structure to be adjusted in real time according to community input. Field visits included community briefings, open discussions, collaborative definition of thematic priorities, and trainings in digital documentation, ensuring local capacity building and long‑term sustainability.