World Heritage	7 EXT.COM	

Distribution limited	
WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/5F
Paris, 21 October 2004
Original : English/French	

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL
ORGANIZATION

CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD
CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE

WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE

Seventh Extraordinary Session

Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, Room II
6 – 11 December 2004

Item  5F of the Provisional Agenda: Progress report on the proposal for the nomination of Qhapaq Ñan - Main Andean Road 

SUMMARY

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is organizing the Fourth Expert Meeting in the nomination process of Qhapaq Ñan – Main Andean Road - for its inscription on the World Heritage List. The meeting will take place in Santiago of Chile (Chile), on 7-10 November 2004.
The Meeting will focus on the role of indigenous communities in the nomination process of Qhapaq Ñan – Main Andean Road - for inscription on the World Heritage List.

Draft decision : 7 EXT.COM 5F ; see point II

I.	Fourth Expert Meeting  for the nomination process of Qhapaq Ñan - Main Andean Road - on the World Heritage List (Santiago de Chile, Chile, 7-10 November 2004)

1.	The World Heritage Center / Latin America and Caribbean Unit will organize the Fourth Expert meeting for the nomination process of Qhapaq Ñan - Main Andean Road - on the World Heritage List in Santiago de Chile on 7-10 November 2004. National Delegations will be composed of experts on legislative matters related to the cultural rights of Andean indigenous communities as well as of those responsible for projects focused on participatory methodologies with Andean communities. They will be accompanied by the professionals with technical and institutional responsibility for the Qhapaq Ñan Project in each of the countries. 

2.	At the Third Expert meeting (La Paz, Bolivia 4-7 April, 2004), matters relating to the participatory methodologies of Andean indigenous communities in the nomination process were raised as a substantial issue of reflection. The crucial importance of forming strategic alliances with well-defined responsibilities for those involved in the candidature process of nomination of the Qhapaq Ñan in the World Heritage List was also raised. 

3.	According to the previous discussions, the aim of the Santiago de Chile (Chile) meeting is to offer suggestions on the opportunities, methods and techniques of community consultation and participation. The conclusions of the meeting are intended to provide guidelines as stepping stones in the process of preparing the candidature for the inscription of the Qhapaq Ñan on the World Heritage List.
 
4.	The meeting will discuss the methods for promoting community consultation and identify opportunities for doing so along the process of the project cycle (pre and post inscription). The meeting will attempt to cover the most basic concepts, and the emphasis will be on community consultation as a necessary precondition for effective participation. The presentation of several case studies will illustrate how effective consultation may be transferred into practice. The necessary conditions for its success will be discussed in order to recommend suggestions for further action to the States parties involved in the process, within the framework of the candidature. 

5.	Such consultations should go beyond eliciting informed consent and involve communities in the decision-making process. Community consultation enlarges people’s range of choices. When people are consulted about projects and use their own knowledge to shape projects, they find ways to make them effective and productive as proved by the process of candidature of La Quebrada de Humahuaca (Argentina), the first Andean cultural landscape included on the World Heritage List. However, institutionalizing consultative methods is difficult for everyone concerned.  Donors have to rethink funding procedures and standards of accountability; state agencies have to reorganize internal structures; project managers have to learn more about the diversity of actors, interest and conflicts in communities and, usually find ways to cooperate with existing local organizations.

6.	The Qhapaq Ñan has not been considered as a project devoted essentially to archaeological heritage. Qhapaq Ñan is a project for and with the Andean community. It is a sub-continental development project, and the results of the meeting will be a reference for other nomination processes when the role of indigenous communities and the community consultation and participation methodology is essential for successful project execution and outcome in all stages.

7.	The significance of community consultation and participation will be demonstrated through case studies. These case studies will also reflect on the concept of information sharing with the wider society on policies and strategies on the process of candidature: 

●	policy and strategy definition of the process, 
●	national/local programming, 
●	identification and orientation of national, binational and international programmes, 
●	negotiation and implementation phases within the candidature process. 

8.	Given the diversity of cultures, the social complexity of even the smallest community and differences between projects, one single technique may not apply everywhere. A sampling of methods may suggest ideas for further developments within the nomination process. 

II.	Draft decision

Draft decision : 7 EXT.COM 5F

The World Heritage Committee,

1.                 Takes note of the progress report made on the nomination process of Qhapaq Ñan – Main Andean Road on the World Heritage List;  

2.                 Thanks the Chilean Government for supporting the organization of the Fourth Expert Meeting held in Santiago de Chile from 7 to 10 November 2004;

3.                 Requests the World Heritage Centre to report on the follow up of this nomination process for its consideration at its 30th session.