摘要：This paper gives a review of the history of preventive conservation, from the examples of prevention measures to protect valuable objects or buildings, to defining of preventive conservation as a discipline and development of a risk management methodology for cultural heritage. This methodology has emerged as a result of introduction of a holistic approach in conservation and shifting the focus to the preservation of the value of an object instead of its physical properties, but also the progressive decline in funding the protection of cultural heritage. The paper examines the driving forces, principles and methodology of preventive conservation and analyzes its role in the context of preservation of cultural heritage. The author argues that the risk-based decision making in preventive conservation enables optimal funding allocation for conservation of the museum, archival and library collections. The paper points out that the innovative approach to preventive conservation is a basis for strategic and systematic planning of cultural heritage preservation following the principles of sustainable development.
