The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) support the implementation of the World Heritage Convention as Advisory Bodies to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focusing on the evaluation and monitoring of World Heritage properties and guiding the global conservation practice of natural and cultural heritage.
The World Heritage Leadership Programme is the most recent development in capacity building within the World Heritage framework. The Programme is a partnership between ICCROM, IUCN, and the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and the Environment, in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS. It aims to improve conservation and management practices for culture and nature through the work of the World Heritage Convention, as an integral component of the contribution of World Heritage Sites and heritage places to sustainable development.
Taking a new and transformative approach, the programme takes a wide view of the totality of conservation practice, beyond the World Heritage framework. It considers how working through World Heritage sites and the communities and specialists that support them, World Heritage can provide new and better leadership to achieve and inspire innovation, performance and excellence in practice.
The Nature-Culture thematic community highlights the importance of integrated heritage protection and management for sustainable development looking at inspiring approaches to heritage management and conservation which include the use of local and Indigenous knowledge and the engagement of local communities. It aims to form a global community of practice in places valued for their cultural and natural significance, across indigenous peoples’ territories, rural and coastal landscapes, seascapes and urban landscapes.
A diverse set of place-specific experiences would be made visible and exchanged by heritage institutions, communities and practitioners with professionals from the larger conservation and development sectors. Resources built up within this common framework will become supporting evidence and enable the sharing of stories among practitioners, decision and policy makers.
Coordinators
