Culture is visibly lacking from the Sustainable Development Goals – but why? History, tourism, the arts, and even video games all have a part to play in the sustainability picture, so we need to consider the sector’s importance.

Dr Chiara Donelli, from the University of Venezia, is an expert in cultural sustainability and she is here to keep us informed. She explains why culture does not have a specific SDG assigned to it, how it fits into the big picture, and how it has been involved in sustainability activity for longer that you might think.

Taking Venice as a prime example, we look at sustainable business models for tourism, the problems of over-tourism – and how the industry can be just as destructive as other more obviously damaging sectors – and how a place can lose its very nature and identity through an excess of visitors.

We discuss Venice’s new tourist tax, conservation at Machu Pichu, population displacement in the Dolomites ahead of the Winter Olympics, Lake District honeypots, Morecambe jetties, and much more.

Find out why Paul is speaking Italian – while the Biennale leaves Jan flummoxed; why Venice at one point needed to stimulate tourism; the role of hippies in the sustainability movement; and the arts as advocacy for positive change.

Discover more about Chiara and her work here: https://www.unive.it/data/people/25748316

Episode Transcript