Policy Compendium

7. “If undertaken responsibly, tourism can be a driver for preservation and conservation of cultural and natural heritage and a vehicle for sustainable development. But if unplanned or not properly managed, tourism can be socially, culturally and economically disruptive, and have a devastating effect on fragile environments and local communities”.

18. “World Heritage and tourism stakeholders share responsibility for conservation of our common cultural and natural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value and for sustainable development through appropriate tourism management”.

2. "(…) The relationship between World Heritage and tourism is two way: tourism, if managed well, offers benefits to World Heritage properties and can contribute to cross-cultural exchange but, if not managed well, poses challenges to these properties (…);

2. (...)

Tourism is critical for World Heritage:

a. For States Parties and their individual properties,

i. to meet the requirement in the Convention to 'present' World Heritage;

ii. to realise community and economic benefits.

b. For the World Heritage Convention as a whole, as the means by which World Heritage properties are experienced by visitors travelling nationally and internationally,

c. As a major means by which the performance of World Heritage properties, and therefore the standing of the Convention, is judged,

i. many World Heritage properties do not identify themselves as such, or do not adequately present their Outstanding Universal Value;

ii. it would be beneficial to develop indicators of the quality of presentation, and the representation of the World Heritage brand.

d. As a credibility issue in relation to: i. the potential for tourism infrastructure to damage Outstanding Universal Value

i. the threat that World Heritage properties may be unsustainably managed in relation to their adjoining communities;

ii. sustaining the conservation objectives of the Convention whilst engaging with economic development;

iii. realistic aspirations that World Heritage can attract tourism."

5. "[The World Heritage Committee] also noting that tourism development in and around World Heritage properties is a key issue for their management, strongly encourages States Parties to ensure sustainable planning and management of tourism at World Heritage properties and to contribute to the implementation of the World Heritage Centre’s World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme."

46. "[The World Heritage Committee] requests States Parties to develop Visitor Management Plans that assess appropriate carrying capacity of properties for visitors and address the issue of unregulated tourism."

2. “In the current context of changing demographics and climate, growing inequalities, diminishing resources, and growing threats to heritage, the need has become apparent to view conservation objectives, (…) with a broader range of economic, social and environmental values and needs encompassed in the sustainable development concept”.

4. “In addition to protecting the OUV of World Heritage properties, States Parties should, (…) recognise and promote the properties' inherent potential to contribute to all dimensions of sustainable development and work to harness the collective benefits for society, also by ensuring that their conservation and management strategies are aligned with broader sustainable development objectives. In this process, the properties’ OUV should not be compromised”.

5. “The integration of a sustainable development perspective into the World Heritage Convention will enable all stakeholders involved in its implementation, in particular at national level, to act with social responsibility (…)”.

6. “States Parties should recognise, by appropriate means, that World Heritage conservation and management strategies that incorporate a sustainable development perspective embrace not only the protection of the OUV, but also the wellbeing of present and future generations”.

7. (…) the overarching principles are (…):

- “Human Rights - The human rights embedded in the UN Charter and the range of broadly ratified human rights instruments reflect fundamental values that underpin the very possibility for dignity, peace and sustainable development. In implementing the World Heritage Convention, it is therefore essential to respect, protect and promote these environmental, social, economic, and cultural rights.

- Equality: The reduction of inequalities in all societies is essential to a vision of inclusive sustainable development. The conservation and management of World Heritage properties should therefore contribute to reducing inequalities, as well as its structural causes, including discrimination and exclusion.

- Sustainability, through a long-term perspective: Sustainability, broadly defined, is inherent to the spirit of the World Heritage Convention. It should serve as a fundamental principle for all aspects of development and for all societies. In the context of the World Heritage Convention, this means applying a long-term perspective to all processes of decision-making within World Heritage properties, with a view to fostering intergenerational equity, justice, and a world fit for present and future generations”.

8. “States Parties should (…) recognize the close links and interdependence of biological diversity and local cultures within the socio-ecological systems of many World Heritage properties”.

9. “All dimensions of sustainable development should apply to natural, cultural and mixed properties in their diversity. These dimensions are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, with none having predominance over another and each being equally necessary. States Parties should therefore review and reinforce governance frameworks within management systems of World Heritage properties in order to achieve the appropriate balance, integration and harmonization between the protection of OUV and the pursuit of sustainable development objectives”.

13. “The role of World Heritage properties as a guarantee of sustainable development needs to be strengthened. Their full potential to contribute to sustainable development needs to be harnessed”.

14. “The World Heritage Convention promotes sustainable development, and in particular environmental sustainability, by valuing and conserving places of outstanding natural heritage value, containing exceptional biodiversity, geodiversity or other exceptional natural features, which are essential for human well-being. A concern for environmental sustainability, however, should equally apply to cultural and mixed World Heritage properties, including cultural landscapes. In implementing the Convention, States Parties should therefore promote environmental sustainability more generally to all World Heritage properties to ensure policy coherence and mutual supportiveness with other multilateral environmental agreements. This involves a responsible interaction with the environment in both cultural and natural properties, to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources, ensuring long-term environmental quality and the strengthening of resilience to disasters and climate change”.

15. “States Parties should ensure that biological and cultural diversity, as well as ecosystem services and benefits for people that contribute to environmental sustainability, are protected and enhanced within World Heritage properties, their buffer zones and their wider settings (…)”.

24. “World Heritage properties, as cultural and natural heritage in general, offer great potential to alleviate poverty and enhance sustainable livelihoods of local communities, including those of marginalized populations. (…) The Convention should therefore contribute to promoting sustainable forms of inclusive and equitable economic development, productive and even employment and income-generating activities for all, while fully respecting the OUV of World Heritage properties”.

“The principle of sustainable development provides for the preservation of existing resources, the active protection of urban heritage and its sustainable management is a condition sine qua non of development”.

Paragraph 6

Article 5

“To ensure that effective and active measures are taken for the protection, conservation and presentation of the cultural and natural heritage situated on its territory, each State Party to this Convention shall endeavor, in so far as possible, and as appropriate for each country: (…)

(e) to foster the establishment or development of national or regional centres for training in the protection, conservation and presentation of the cultural and natural heritage and to encourage scientific research in this field."

Paragraph 211

“The objectives [of Educational Programmes] are:

a) to enhance capacity-building and research;

b) to raise the general public’s awareness, understanding and appreciation of the need to preserve cultural and natural heritage;

c) to enhance the function of World Heritage in the life of the community; and

d) to increase equitable, inclusive and effective participation of local and national populations, including indigenous peoples, in the protection and presentation of heritage.”

Paragraph 212

Paragraph 213

Paragraph 214

Paragraph 214bis

3. “[The World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy] proposes a paradigm shift to step beyond conventional training to embrace a capacity building approach. Current needs demonstrate that the audience for capacity building for World Heritage conservation and management activities is wide, diverse and growing. Creating and strengthening capacities of institutions and of networks that link the heritage sector to wider communities is as much a priority as the training of individual practitioners. Capacities reside on practitioners, institutions, and communities and networks, which are the target audiences for capacity building at the Strategy (…). Capacity building – whether of practitioners, institutions or communities and networks- is seen as a form of people-centered change that entails working with groups of individuals to achieve improvements in approaches to managing cultural and natural heritage (…). Capacity building should be understood as the most cost-effective means by which World Heritage Committee can protect the Outstanding Universal Value and other values of World Heritage properties and ensure a mutually beneficial dynamic between heritage and society”.

4. “[The Strategy also proposes a paradigm shift from] treating natural and cultural heritage actors separately to the realization that capacity building actions can be strengthened by creating joint opportunities (…).”

7. “Vision. We envisage a world where practitioners, institutions, communities and networks are enlightened, capable and closely aligned in their work to protect World Heritage, and heritage in general, and to give it a positive role in the life of communities. Practitioners will be able to better protect and manage World Heritage. Institutions will be capable of providing support for effective conservation and management through favorable legislation and policies, establishing a more effective administrative set-up and providing financial and human resources for heritage protection. Communities and networks will be aware of the importance of heritage and support its conservation”.

9. “Key Goals and Summary Action Plan on World Heritage Capacity Building. The Capacity Building Strategy is organized according to the “5Cs” that represent the established strategic directions of the World Heritage Convention. The table below sets out the 9 main goals of the Strategy, the principal actions that are recommended in relation to each, and the main audience in terms of practitioners, institutions and communities”.

10. “The World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy foresees each UNESCO region developing a regional capacity building strategy and associated programmes for strengthening capacities at the regional level. This strategy will be different for each region in order to respond to the specific needs and situation in each of the regions.”

11. “National Capacity Building Strategies. It would also be useful for interested State Parties to develop national capacity building strategies. These strategies can use a similar methodology as the one at the regional level, and can also be carried out at the time of the preparation and analysis of the Periodic Reporting questionnaires. This exercise will allow an individual State Party to better understand specific national and property based capacity building needs. The State Party should also investigate what national, regional, and international capacity building institutions exist that can assist in the development of national and local capacities. These national capacity building strategies could be very useful for State Parties to be able to analyze the exact human resource needs at national institutions (not just for heritage organizations, but also related institutions dealing with tourism, planning, development, etc). These national strategies would also be best placed to ensure that there is capacity building for other relevant stakeholders at the level of World Heritage properties and in particular at the level of local communities. In certain instances, it may be useful for more than one country to work on a joint strategy. The World Heritage Centre, Advisory Bodies, and other capacity building providers should provide necessary technical support and facilitation to States Parties wishing to develop national strategies”.

3. "(...)

e) [The World Heritage Committee will] promote World Heritage through communication, education, research, training and public awareness strategies."

Paragraph 217

“States Parties are encouraged to raise awareness of the need to preserve World Heritage. In particular, they should ensure that World Heritage status is adequately marked and promoted on-site”.

Paragraph 219

“The World Heritage Committee encourages and supports the development of educational materials, activities and programmes.”

Annex 5

“[World Heritage site] should consider visitor facilities that may include interpretation/explanation (signage, trails, notices or publications, guides); museum/exhibition devoted to the property, visitor or interpretation centre; and/or potential use of digital technologies."

Paragraph 264

Paragraph 267

“States Parties to the Convention should take all possible measures to prevent the use of the Emblem in their respective countries by any group or for any purpose not explicitly recognized by the Committee. States Parties are encouraged to make full use of national legislation including Trade Mark Laws”.

Article 5

"[The World Heritage Convention calls upon States Parties] to adopt a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community (…)."

17. “(…) Inclusive social development is at the heart of the implementation of the (…) Convention. States Parties should further recognise that full inclusion, respect and equity of all stakeholders, including local and concerned communities and indigenous peoples, together with a commitment to gender equality, are a fundamental premise for inclusive social development (…)”.

19. “World Heritage properties have the potential to enhance quality of life and wellbeing of all stakeholders, and in particular local communities (…)”.

3. “In view of the increasing challenges to our shared heritage, we will:

c) (…) seek to ensure an appropriate and equitable balance between conservation, sustainability and development, so that World Heritage properties can be protected through appropriate activities contributing to the social and economic development and the quality of life of our communities;

f) (…) seek to ensure the active involvement of our local communities at all levels in the identification, protection and management of our World Heritage properties”.

Paragraph 12

Paragraph 40

Paragraph 117

5. "[The World Heritage Committee] decides to maintain credibility, conservation, capacity building and communication as strategic objectives in the implementation of the Convention whilst restating the different components and, recognizing the critical importance of involving indigenous, traditional and local communities in the implementation of the Convention, further decides to add ‘communities’ as a fifth strategic objective."

7. "(...)

i. Human Rights: The human rights embedded in the UN Charter and the range of broadly ratified human rights instruments reflect fundamental values that underpin the very possibility for dignity, peace and sustainable development. In implementing the World Heritage Convention, it is therefore essential to respect, protect and promote these environmental, social, economic, and cultural rights".

17. "The World Heritage Convention in Article 5 calls upon States Parties to “adopt a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community”. States Parties should recognise that inclusive social development is at the heart of the implementation of this provision of the Convention. States Parties should further recognise that full inclusion, respect and equity of all stakeholders, including local and concerned communities and indigenous peoples, together with a commitment to gender equality, are a fundamental premise for inclusive social development. Enhancing quality of life and well-being in and around World Heritage properties is essential, taking into account communities who might not visit or reside in or near properties but are still stakeholders. Inclusive social development must be underpinned by inclusive governance".

18. "States Parties should ensure that the conservation and management of World Heritage properties is based on recognition of cultural diversity, inclusion and equity (…)".

20. "(…) To ensure policy coherence in conserving and managing World Heritage properties, States Parties should commit to uphold, respect and contribute to the implementation of the full range of international human rights standards as a pre-requisite for effectively achieving sustainable development. To this end, States Parties should:

i. Ensure that the full cycle of World Heritage processes from nomination to management is compatible with and supportive of human rights;

ii. Adopt a rights-based approach, which promotes World Heritage properties as exemplary places for the application of the highest standards for the respect and realization of human rights;

iii. Develop, through equitable participation of concerned people, relevant standards and safeguards, guidance tools and operational mechanisms for assessment, nomination, management, evaluation and reporting processes compatible with and effective rights-based approach for both existing and potential new properties;

iv. Promote technical cooperation and capacity-building to ensure effective rights-based approaches".

23. "(...) States Parties should:

i. Ensure respect for gender equality throughout the full cycle of World Heritage processes, particularly in the preparation and content of nomination dossiers;

ii. Ensure social and economic opportunities for both women and men in and around World Heritage properties;

iii. Ensure equal and respectful consultation, full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership and representation of both women and men within activities for the conservation and management of World Heritage properties;

iv. When or where relevant, ensure that gender-rooted traditional practices within World Heritage properties, for example in relation to access or participation in management mechanisms, have received the full consent of all groups within the local communities through transparent consultation processes that fully respects gender equality."

Paragraph 155