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	15 November 2002 UNF: Setting the Standard for World Heritage Partnerships Interviews with Timothy Wirth, Erika Harms and Seema Paul Since 1997, the United Nations Foundation (UNF) has been working to promote the work of the United Nations, and especially the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. As one of its mandates is the protection of the world’s biological diversity, UNF focuses uniquely on World Heritage sites inscribed for their natural values and specifically those that are located in areas of important biological diversity. "Partnerships -- with international NGO's, corporations, foundations and others -- is at the heart of all the work we do at the UN Foundation,” said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the UN Foundation, “because the UN cannot solve the pressing global problems facing the world's people alone. Our work with UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre are shining examples of what effective partnerships can accomplish." In an interview during the World Heritage 2002 Congress, Resource Mobilisation Officer for the UN Foundation, Erika Harms was asked why she felt UNF was so successful at building partnerships. Harms offered several theories: “With World Heritage involvement, the UN Foundation goes beyond traditional fundraising,” said Harms. “UN programmes give leverage to our initiatives. It’s not the same when the projects are not backed by the UN. People give money but not to the same extent as when the UN is involved. This is because the UN brings together many people who want to work on sustainable projects.” She also pointed out that World Heritage sites have the political backing of the State Parties to the World Heritage Convention, which also reinforces the sustainability of UNF’s work. Another reason given was that despite the preconceived notions that the UN is bureaucratic; often times, the projects move more smoothly through government obstacles which often impede other projects from getting off the ground. “For example in the United States, in talking to private donors, they’d like to give locally but fear projects may not be sustainable,” explained Harms. “Having the UN there ensures that the project and the concept is executed,” she added. Harms said this makes building new partnerships easier and a lot more attractive. She recalled that at the first day of the World Heritage 2002 Congress, a panellist reported that the private sector in the USA gives $280 billion a year to philanthropy projects in the United States, and that only a small percentage of that goes to international projects. However, she feels that globalisation and multinational corporations are changing American’s attitudes towards international programmes and that more donors are starting to give money globally. “The problem is that traditional companies don’t know how to go about international partnerships,” said Harms, “so working with the UN is like an insurance policy for them, that the money will be spent on these programmes.” According to Harms, the three key ingredients for successful projects are to have the UN agencies, the donors and the UNF involved. “The fact that it is the UN helps us to engage partners early in the process,” said Harms. She also explained that projects in which donors are involved from the drawing board tend to elicit greater contributions from those donors and greater results for the projects. As for the future, “we need to create broader partnership initiatives,” said Harms, “and take advantage of the outcomes of the workshops and this Congress in order to create a strategy for a more institutionalised partnership. Not on a case by case basis, but global partnerships which allow for the sustainable flow of funds to World Heritage sites.” When asked about the new World Heritage Partnership Initiative, Harms feels that it needs the lead of the World Heritage Centre but that the Centre also needs to be aware of the resources that are required to implement this. She reiterated National Geographic Editor Bill Allen’s insights at the Venice Workshop on Partnerships, that the “Branding of World Heritage” is important. “The concept of World Heritage is not known or understood by everyone,” said Harms. “In order to be successful in increasing partnerships, we need to develop a clear communication strategy,” she added. “There is not one single way of getting resources to the table,” said Harms, stating that UNF learned new ways at the Congress. There is a lot we can do together. “With the network and knowledge from this Congress, we are very positive that we can have a successful funding strategy. If we increase the awareness of the World Heritage Convention we will increase interest in collaborations. Some important examples of Partnerships In an interview at the Congress, Seema Paul , Senior Program Officer, Biodiversity for the UN Foundation, spoke of the new partnership between UNF, Conservation International and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, announced at the Congress on Saturday 15 November. “It’s a partnership that has been developed over the past 18 months,” said Paul, “that will bring 15 million to the table for biodiversity protection at natural World Heritage sites over the next three to seven years.” “This partnership is more than projects, Paul explained, and more than a sum of projects because it will give the World Heritage Centre access to Conservation International’s network of national offices in more than 50 countries.” Through the new partnership, Conservation International (CI) will work with the World Heritage Centre and UNF to mobilize resources towards setting up sustainable financing mechanisms, such as trust funds, for select World Heritage sites. “CI, just like the World Heritage Centre, is an organization with a proven track record and it is here to stay in the field of conservation,” said Paul. “So this relationship will hopefully thrive and get stronger through the years,” she added. Paul explained the UNF is also exploring similar partnerships with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as well as other NGOs and donors. However Paul clarified that, “these are not just partnerships for money. They bring technical expertise in their area of experience.” Another aspect of the UNF philosophy to partnership-building revealed by Paul is “beginning with partnerships on ground, with local authorities and national governments, locally-based NGOs and donors, so it’s a wide range of partners. For the past two years, UNF, UNESCO, UNDP and CI have partnered on a three-year project in the Conservation of the Suriname Nature Reserve World Heritage Site. The project is strengthening park management and developing measures to prevent illicit poaching of wildlife. “CI is also an important partner in our Brazilian World Heritage Biodiversity Program and the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative—both of which involve the World Wildlife Fund,” said Paul. The World Wildlife Fund has also partnered with the World Heritage Centre and UNF by offering expertise in their fight against invasive species in the Galapagos World Heritage Site. Through partnerships such as these, Paul explained, UNF receives “matching funds” for trust funds which in turn generate a sustainable flow of resources for the World Heritage sites. Back