International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 60 (2021) 102321 Available online 11 May 2021 2212-4209/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Community organization for the protection of cultural heritage in the aftermath of disasters David A. Torres Castro Coordinaci´ on Nacional de Conservaci´ on Del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPC), Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City, Mexico A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Cultural heritage Disaster Mexico Social response Emerging organizations ABSTRACT When disasters occur, they have the potential to cause great damage to infrastructure and property, including cultural heritage. This paper explores how and why communities may use traditional social structures, not previously related to disaster management, to intervene and take independent actions in the protection of cul- tural assets during emergencies. Through a case study in Mexico, the type of community organizations involved during an emergency phase is reviewed, emphasizing the emerging and informal groups. In that context, the thematic analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews conducted in this investigation revealed two factors that need to be considered to understand what has driven those groups to physically engage in the rescue activities: a) the pre-disaster relationship between institutions and the community, within the socio-political context; and b) the cultural signifcance of the places or objects that are perceived at risk. Additionally, this research demonstrates that the emergency actions for the protection of heritage assets taken by the community have an important role for local communities as resilience drivers by helping them to organize self-suffciently and face the loss. Thus, cultural sites and objects become physical nodes around which people can improve risk awareness, fnd psychological relief and emerge as organized and more resilient groups. As a result, this research concludes that cultural heritage can and should stand in the centre of collective participa- tion, as it enhances people’s capacity to cope and reduce social vulnerability in disasters. 1. Introduction When disasters occur, they have the potential to severely affect all aspects of life, from physical resources such as infrastructure and property, to social and cultural assets as well, affecting large regions and disrupting livelihoods in many ways [1,2]. Among the large range of possible impacts, cultural heritage is very likely to be found affected [3]. Besides the physical damage and loss, disasters also affect intangible aspects of cultural heritage including skills, knowledge and cultural practices, disrupting social and cultural continuity [4]. In response, countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Spain or Ecuador are working towards achieving some degree of institutional capacity to respond and cope with the impact of disasters in cultural heritage as emergency manage- ment plans and programs have been created over the last decades for this purpose [5–8]. However, in the feld of cultural heritage management this capacity to respond to emergencies is not often operational or is found to be very limited. There is an observed lack of institutional awareness and preparedness, particularly in developing countries, even when it is recognized that cultural heritage is highly vulnerable to damage [9,10]; M [11–13]. In this context, it has been observed that in some circumstances communities organize independently at the local level and intervene directly towards the temporary protection of cultural heritage immedi- ately after a triggering event [13]. However, this does not happen in every situation. Based on a case study of Tehuantepec in Mexico, this work explores the different types of social groups that may be engaged during emergencies and reveals the social meaning and values associ- ated with heritage assets as the drivers to informal participation. The question on when these collective processes are enabled, and which kind of social, alternative and non-institutional structures are engaged is discussed throughout the paper as well. 2. Cultural heritage and disaster risk management The defnition of heritage is in constant change [14] and has evolved signifcantly over the past decades [4]; J [13,15]. From proft-making assets [16,17] to physical manifestations of the past [18,19], the notion of cultural heritage has now expanded to incorporate immaterial E-mail address: david_torres@inah.gob.mx. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijdrr https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102321 Received 29 November 2020; Received in revised form 4 May 2021; Accepted 6 May 2021