Heritage managers and caretakers often have to prioritize and make choices about how best to use the available resources to protect collections, buildings, monuments and sites. This means, for instance, having to decide among options such as increasing security against theft and vandalism, improving building maintenance to reduce water leaks, installing air conditioning in collection storage areas, hiring specialized pest management services, installing fire alarm and fire suppression systems, implementing disaster preparedness and response plans, building new storage facilities, buying ‘conservation quality’ packaging materials, intensifying conservation and restoration treatments, etc. Risk management can help us answer these questions and make better decisions about the preservation and use of cultural heritage. It allows us to consider all risks relative to each other in order to establish priorities and plan our resources better. We can also apply risk management to deal with any situation that requires a comparison between two or more specific risks, that involves a dilemma between preservation and access, or between preservation and environmental sustainability, etc.