Cultural heritage is almost absent in the sustainable development goals agendas, although heritage conservation process is already an act of sustainable development that protects and preserves heritage buildings and their intangible values.

Heritage buildings can be the subjects of sustainable design projects that achieve outstanding measures of sustainability and energy efficiency while not compromising the authenticity of the heritage value of the building.

This issue aims to encourage further dialogue, critical reflection and cross-disciplinary collaboration by bringing together examples of interesting projects and research that could provide a practically grounded approach.

The issue also seeks to publish papers with case studies of contribution approaches that render cultural heritage, both physical and non-physical, a stimulus for sustainable development. We welcome papers from a wide range of regulations and specifically encourage research that embraces approaches that go beyond disciplinary boundaries. We are also very keen on experimental ways in which heritage can contribute to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

IEREK is pleased to invite scholars, researchers, students (undergraduate/postgraduate) that propose interdisciplinary methods and/or concepts to the contribution of cultural heritage to other aspects of sustainable development.

Topics:

• Importance of Architectural Heritage Conservation and its Contribution to Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Ways to Conserve our Architectural Heritage
• Socio-economics Impact and Environmental Benefits of Architectural Heritage Conservation
• Sustainable Conservation and Development of Heritage Landscape Planning
• Sustainable Materials Used in the Protection of the Heritage Sites
• Sustainability Challenges in Conserving the Architectural Heritage
• Cultural Heritage and its Contribution to Environmental Sustainability areas of Impacts and Analytical Approaches
• The challenges of globalization and/or modernization to heritage sustainability
• The opportunities and challenges of public/community participation in heritage projects for contributing to sustainable management practices covering both intangible and tangible heritage
• Case studies where heritage has/is being actively used to achieve Sustainable Development Goals
• International case studies using technologies to achieve a sustainable conservation to the architectural heritage buildings and sites

We have been depending on fossil fuels greatly in the past decades, which led to their depletion and it won’t last for another 150 years. This have led many scientists, scholars and researchers to redirect their focus to other natural resources and how to sustainably use these resources. It will be difficult to imagine the world without its natural resources. Natural resources could be both nonrenewable resources like fossil fuels, oil, natural gas, and coal and nuclear energy, and renewable resources like wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and ocean energy. Use of renewable energy resources is essential now more than ever for our planet’s survival

Preservation of the natural environment is essential for maintaining community and maintaining life on earth. The need to conserve the resources is very crucial to support life by supporting the ecological balance, and to ensure that the future generations will be able to access these resources. Challenges that our nature faces like all forms of pollution and global warming need to be addressed and resolved.

This issue aims to promote and disseminate the knowledge needed for the integration and implementation of new technologies in the renewable and alternative energy field. It is to showcase to the international community the groundbreaking results of the hard work that took place in the fields of renewable energy research and development to achieve environmental sustainability to ensure the human race’s survival without getting all the natural resources used up.

Topics:

• Public Awareness and Education on Renewable Energy
• Renewable Energy Production at Community Scale
• Environmental Crises: Water Pollution, Global Warming, and Acid Rain
• Benefits of Natural Resources Preservation
• Approaches and Techniques Used to Preserve the Natural Resources
• Green Buildings: Designing Buildings with Nature and with Technologies
• Energy-efficiency in the Built Environment
• Challenges in Preserving Natural Resources
• Global Climate Change Challenges and Management
• Climate Responsive Architecture: Solar Architecture and Renewable Energies
• Recycling and Conservation of Natural Resources
• Towards a Zero-Waste City
• International Case Studies and Solution of Green Energies Versus Pollution