This poster discusses results of a documentation project undertaken after the 2005 tsunami hit the southern Nias region of Sumatra. Economically, the islands were poorly developed, and since the tsunami hit, they suffered even more economic hardships. At the same time, the authors have found that in various communities, the people’s care and respect for their material cultural heritage is in decline. Recent experiences with natural disasters in Indonesia have shown the insufficiency of existing cultural heritage documentation, and the urgent need to update available information. The region is famous for its megalith culture and rich connected social and ritual culture. Up to now, however, the only existing records about megalith culture was based on the 1964 book by F M Schnitger. The tsunami and economic hardships, the cultural disengagement and current paucity of written data have provided the impetus for this documentation project, aimed at collecting data on the current condition of the region’s cultural heritage. This poster will explore how the relationship of the region’s communities to their culture has changed and what is happening to tangible and intangible values, and will review why local communities experience pressures to neglect their material heritage, and whether the causes are modernization, tourism developments, current circumstances, fight for survival or other. The critical role that documentation has on the preservation of cultural heritage will be discussed, as well as what influence it has had on the community and the decision-makers, for example in providing evidence to substantiate the need for maintenance investments.