Director of the Center for Natural and Cultural Heritage at the German Jordanian University, Prof. Nizar Abu Jaber, participated in the international expert meeting on “Archaeological Heritage in a Changing Climate: Confronting Threats, Sustaining Futures”, which was held in Rome from March 17–21, 2025, and organized by the Getty Conservation Institute in partnership with the CNR Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR).
The purpose of the gathering was to explore the present and potential effects of the climate crisis on ancient sites by bringing together specialists in the domains of climate research and archaeological heritage conservation. The purpose of the meeting is to create solutions for the threat that climate change poses to archaeological heritage and to promote learning between climate scientists and conservation experts.
During the Responses to Climate Impacts: Adaptation and Resilience session, Prof. Abu-Jaber gave a talk titled "Nabataean Adaptation and Resilience Through the Lens of Wadi Hremiyyeh, Petra." Archaeological, botanical, climatic, and landscape evidence were used in the research to demonstrate how humans have adapted to changing climates in order to live and create a remarkable civilization. In his talk he emphasized the importance of learning from the experiences of previous civilizations and applying architectural interventions in the environment to confront climate change.