Climate Changes and Scent Heritage: The Urgent Need for Capturing and Preserving Olfactory Landscapes in a Changing World

As the world grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change, not only are physical landscapes undergoing drastic alterations, but olfactory landscapes? the scents integral to our cultural heritage? areal so endangered. Scents, whether tied to natural environments, rituals, or social customs, serve as potent triggers for emotional and evocative memories. These olfactory experiences are crucial in defining our shared history and collective identity. This project underscores the need to urgently address the climate-induced vulnerabilities affecting our scent heritage. Employing interdisciplinary methods spanning neuroscience, cultural studies, and cutting-edge technology, we aim to create a robust framework for capturing, digitizing, and preserving these imperiled scents. Our Intellectual Property (IP) will provide tools that enable us not just to document but also to reproduce these scents, much like we do with visual and auditory heritage. By focusing on the climate-change-driven threats to our olfactory landscapes, this project serves as a vanguard initiative for holistic cultural preservation, ensuring that future generations have access to this of ten over looked yet invaluable facet of human heritage.