The process for the elaboration of the new management plan for the World Heritage property started in 2017, and several groups have been working on it for three years (2017-2020). The World Heritage Management Board is leading the process, with the collaboration of the cultural heritage manager in Røros, the representative of Sámi Indigenous people, urban planners from the different municipalities and counties within the World Heritage property and buffer zone, and the Director of the Museum of Røros. Hearings and meetings with the municipality boards in the 5 municipalities have been used for establishing this dialogue. More than 40 different parties were invited to the hearings including the counties, municipalities, museums, NGOs, persons involved in the Management Plans, private owners of land within the World Heritage property, and the Sámi Parliament. The Sámi were involved in the same way as the other stakeholders, and counting with representatives both in the World Heritage Board and in the administrative group.

The place where to learn about Røros and the Circumference is the Museum. The Røros museum consists of five main sections, one dedicated to the buildings of Røros, one dedicated to the Sámi culture, one dedicated to nature conservation management, one to mining and quarrying and one to the World Heritage. A permanent position as Sámi researcher was established in 2001. The establishment of the Museum as the World Heritage centre of Røros and the Circumference in 2017, allowed the enlargement of the World Heritage narrative to the Sámi relationship to the place already existing in the museum. In this space, it is clarified that the Sámi were in the area before the copper-works started. The sami community has existed through history on its own terms but also in interaction with the society around the copper-works. Interaction could be based on trading with reindeers, with handicraft, withreindeer-skins, or as hosts for reindeers that were owned by people who owned the copper-work, tradesmen and farmers. The landscape of the Circumference has been to some extend also shaped in relation to the reindeers, and Sámi managed this relationship in a sustainable way.

The World Heritage Management Board was established in 2012 and is composed of 8 members representing the main stakeholder groups in the World Heritage property: 5 mayors of the 5 municipalities - Røros, Tolga, Holtålen, Engerdal and Os-, 1 representative for each of the 2 counties - Trøndelag and Innlandet (regional level)- and 1 representative of the Sámi Parliament. The chair holds the role for 2 years and can be re-elected. The World Heritage coordinator acts as the Secretary of the board. Besides, there are 6 observers: the Director of Destination Røros, the Director of the Røros museum, the Director of Nord-Østerdal Museum (3 municipalities), the Director of Røros Municipality, the Cultural Heritage manager of Røros and the site manager of the Femundsmarka National Park who represents both national parks and the governors of the 2 counties. The board has regular meetings (4-5 times a year) and excursions where they process cases proposed by the coordinator, by the members themselves and by other stakeholders. The management plan, budget, new proposals to strengthen the values in the site, national and international collaboration and hearings of different suggestions from the directorates and departments are discussed. The decisions are taken by consensus.

Quality economy is based on successful conservation or conservation-based economy set up in the guidelines of Vietnam MAB in 2009. Labeling and branding goods and services from CBR could help promote the development of quality economies in the CBR and its sustainable development. In the context of economic development in CBR, quality includes value creation and increased economic benefits for local people consumptions; production in line with sustainable development; fair distribution, solidarity; awareness of conservation of nature and culture and networking among Bisophere Reserves. Successful conservation creates a prestige value. Labeling under this concept brings added value to local products creating a contribution and recognition to local communities and their efforts in conservation.

System thinking is a scientific approach that starts with the whole. It is used for the design of individual biosphere reserves but also for connecting it to the whole international network. It takes into account complex relationships as well as “soft” variables that underpin human emotions, motivation and behavior thus providing a holistic approach to complex policy and social issues. From this perspective, biosphere reserves consist of various components which reflect complex relationships between natural and socio-economic factors, between physical structures and human values, between cultural space and natural landscape, political ecology and creative ecology. The application of system thinking is carried out from the preparation stage of nomination of a biosphere reserve to design, management planning and implementation. Applying system thinking to the design of a biosphere reserve allows to identify all elements of the larger ecosystem. In the case of CBR, this approach enables the connection between the ancient town, influential to the development of the whole ecosystem as a historic port and its cultural heritage in relation to the marine protected area.

The CBR Management Board coordinates all activities that are related to the cultural and natural values of the Biosphere Reserve. In the development procedure, the CBR tries to create a safe place for stakeholders to work together and find out integrated solutions. One of the main tasks of the CBR Management Board is to coordinate the different international and national designations which include the Biosphere Reserve, the World Heritage site, the intangible cultural heritage, and the marine protected area. The master plan and implementation program of the CBR is always in the making, being updated and coordinated with stakeholders including the four main entities: government, scientists, private sector and local people. The majority of the leaders in the city were invited to be members of the management board of the CBR. This is an important characteristic of the system that serves to facilitate the collection of information and data, to discuss and to reflect at workshops and meetings, to analyze problems, and to find out solutions thereon. All of the CBR coordinators are responding to the balance between conservation and development, focusing on sustainable development and resilience to climate change.

Uncultivated land was used to establish a Heritage Garden with endemic plants and to re-cultivate liquorice. Europe-wide trade in seeds and liquorice root once formed a significant part of the local economy. The plant was used for medical purposes and as a sweetener. However, liquorice root from Bamberg lost its competitiveness during the 1960s. Correspondingly, the knowledge about cultivating, harvesting and processing liquorice has diminished. The Liquorice Society is committed to the re-cultivation of the plant and tries to reconstruct methods of harvesting and processing. International competitiveness no longer plays a role today. The liquorice root is now a connoisseur product for tourists.

An interest group of 19 market gardeners was initiated by the World Heritage Office. It holds joint activities such as the annual ‘Day of Open Market Gardens’ and publishes buyer’s guides for local produce. This consortium of gardeners is coordinated by a caretaker financed by the National Investment Programme for World Heritage (2009-2013) and the gardeners, respectively. The consortium has its own logo, which was commissioned several years ago and reads ‘Gutes aus der Gärtnerstadt’ (Good produce from the Market Gardeners’ District).

While urban gardening is very much on vogue around the globe, Bamberg’s Market Gardeners’ District still stems from the Middle Ages and has not been abandoned to build residential properties like in Bath (UK) or Istanbul (Turkey). International researchers and tourists are attracted by this uniqueness alike. The local population on the other side take this fact as a given. The World Heritage Office intensively communicates national and international interest in Bamberg’s uniqueness to raise awareness for the protection of the local gardening tradition. Several documentaries about the Bamberg’s Market Gardeners’ District produced by the Bavarian State TV have strengthened the local identity and people’s pride in the gardening tradition. The international delegations that regularly visit Bamberg to experience the unique Market Gardeners’ District also contribute to the awareness concerning the value of this heritage.

In several families, the next generation has taken over the gardening business. Some of those young people even have a seat in the City Council to ensure that the interests of gardeners are heard in the political arena.

In Bamberg, every school child now visits the Market Gardeners’ District at least once to learn about food production on site.

In view of the heterogeneous ownership structure in the Market Gardeners’ District, the establishment of partnerships was time-consuming. Representatives from the Municipality and its subsidiaries (e.g. City Works for water supply) had to be brought to the table together with gardeners, land owners, associations (such as the Heritage Garden or the Licorice Society) and garden lovers. The municipality approached the corresponding stakeholders in writing, by phone and organized several meetings. Privacy concerns of residents had to be carefully addressed while finding adequate uses for uncultivated land. In one case, the building of trust recently even resulted in the conversion of an abandoned nursery into a community center, where cultural events, cooking classes and exhibitions are held.