Introduction
CoalHeritage (Conservation and promotion of the Coal Mining Heritage as Europe’s cultural legacy) is an RFCS Accompanying Measure European Project (Fig. 1) that focuses mainly on regions that have ceased exploitation of coal, while also taking into consideration regions that are currently in a transition coal phase.
Objectives
The main objectives of CoalHeritage are: 1) Identification of processes needed to declare coal sites as heritage areas, 2) Enhanced management in the coal regions in transition, improving health and safety of employees as well as minimising the environmental impact of coal mines in transition, 3) Design and develop a European Visual Map Journal (EVMJ) and 4) Dissemination and network development, all aiming to support the just transition of the coal sector and coal dependent regions. To achieve the objectives, the Project Coordinator has assembled a consortium made up of 6 partners from 5 European Countries with specialised background in heritage and coal mine transition as presented in the below table.
Goal and General Plan
The overall goal of CoalHeritage Project is the development of an interregional network for the promotion and protection of coal mining heritage in mining regions. The goal aims support local communities in transition and their residents by making them less dependent on the coal and lignite mining industry through repurposing of coal mines. The general plan is to provide access to re-skilling programmes, create potential to stimulate new economic activities in these areas and develop jobs in new economic sectors, especially in relation to the coal regions in transition (e.g., tourism).
The following Table 1 provides basic information regarding each partner involved in the CoalHeritage project.
