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Monitoring and managing for success in World Natural Heritage sites

About the project
Enhancing Our Heritage - Monitoring and Managing for Success in World Natural Heritage Sites
is a four-year UNESCO/IUCN project funded by the United Nations Foundation. The project commenced in 2001 and is operating in ten World Heritage sites in Africa, South Asia and Latin America that have all been recognized for their biodiversity values.

The specific aim of the project is to demonstrate how using an assessment, monitoring and reporting framework can enhance effective management of World Heritage sites. By the end of the project, the ten demonstration sites will have:

  • an established assessment, monitoring and reporting program for evaluating management effectiveness and the state of conservation of World Heritage values;
  • site managers and others trained in the application of assessment and monitoring techniques;
  • established or improved communication and co-operation between site managers, local communities and NGOs, regional training institutions and other key experts and stakeholders that will provide a solid basis for continuation of assessment and monitoring work beyond the life of the project;
  • improved management in areas of identified deficiency resulting from training programs and small-scale support provided through the project;
  • integration of assessment and monitoring practices into the general process of management; and
  • project proposals prepared and funding sought for large-scale projects required to address identified deficiencies.

Based on the results of the project, IUCN will provide recommendations to the World Heritage Committee on a consistent approach to assessment, monitoring and reporting on the state of conservation and management effectiveness of World Heritage sites that could be applied to World Heritage sites on an on-going basis.

The project has been built around the application of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas.