Our transnational cooperation was largely based on personal contacts and larger efforts were dependent on external funding. The work for the preparation of the joint management plan has allowed us to structure the transnational cooperation and formalize it. All these measures will contribute to a more sustainable and long-term cooperation that isn´t so dependent on personal connections.
Now we have a better explanation of the tasks and organization of the transnational cooperation group, and we also included all municipalities in the area in the group.
An expert panel will help in management questions considering protection of World Heritage values and give valuable input to both site managers and the transnational cooperation group.
Personnel from different levels in the management authorities in both countries will meet regularly, and this is written into the management plan.
The transnational cooperation group agreed to meet more frequently while working on the management plan. We had many discussions and workshops about the mission and constitution of the group, and we have also discussed the transnational management with organizations not directly involved in it. Transnational cooperation has to be important for the involved organizations and there has to be a will to invest in it.
This kind of work takes time. By building cooperation over time, it is possible to move on from learning from each other to solving challenges together.
Cooperation can be very vulnerable if it is based on specific persons and personal connections, for example when persons in our cooperation group have changed and a new representative from the same organization did not have the chance to learn about the work from their predecessors. That´s why it is important to form routines for transferring knowledge within the involved organizations.
Another challenge is to find the right level of representation, to get persons involved who have both knowledge and right to make decisions. When involving many different organizations, it isn´t always possible to reach consensus in different matters, but the strength of the cooperation is in the discussions and in asking questions.
Another part of the success is that all work with the management plan (except the CVI project) was done as a part of our regular work. All things learned stays in the organizations when no short-time project staff have been participating. It took a long time, but it was worth it.
Linking SOUV, World Heritage values and attributes
Hilly landscape in the High Coast.
Erik Engelro
To be able to write a joint management plan, we need to agree on what we have to manage. A shared understanding of the key values and attributes is crucial. An important step for us was to facilitate meetings that brought the national geological surveys in both Sweden and Finland together so they could discuss land uplift and ice age traces and consider the site in its totality. These discussions gave important insight on the geological attributes of the site.
To get a clear overview of the key values of the property, excerpts from the SOUV for High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago were analysed and grouped together as seven key values. Attributes were listed for each key heritage value. This process gave a clear connection between the SOUV in the everyday work with WH management. It makes the abstract concept of World Heritage more tangibly associated to its management.
The analysis of the SOUV required involving professionals from different disciplines and getting them to discuss about what makes the WHS special.
This step was first explored in the Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) Assessment that was carried out at the site. The work done in the CVI project was crucial to linking SOUV, values and attributes together and it has been described in a separate PANORAMA solution (link below)
As a part of the CVI process we assessed the current condition and recent trend for the excerpts from our SOUV. This was done in a workshop with participants from both countries. The assessment helps in prioritization in WH management.
In a transnational or serial WHS is it important to get specialists from different fields and different parts of the property to work together. We´ve learned that it is of great value to assess current condition and recent trend for WH values together with other stakeholders and specialists, as controversial results may raise many questions and perhaps skepticism. It is good to be able to show that the results are based on systematic work taking different views into consideration. And because of this broad base we know we can trust our results and conclusions.
It was easy to list the most important attributes in the periodic reporting 2023, but that wouldn´t have been the case if the periodic reporting would have been prior to the work we´ve done with SOUV, values and attributes. A clear and structured overview of values and attributes, and a better understanding of our SOUV is also helpful in interpretation, communication, and monitoring.
Accessible information is also beneficial for people working with planning and permits in the area.
The High Coast (Sweden) became a World Heritage Site in 2000, and 2006 the World Heritage became a transnational site with the addition of the Kvarken Archipelago (Finland). Since the nomination process wasn’t done together, there was no clear cooperation structure in place. In 2008, a transnational cooperation group was formed with representatives from municipalities and authorities from the involved regions. Since the expansion of the World Heritage site to include Kvarken Archipelago, the cooperation between management authorities has progressively increased. The level of cooperation has varied a bit, mostly due to personnel changes. It takes time to build a team.
There has been several larger joint projects, financed by Interreg, an EU fund that promotes cross-border cooperation. The last one was LYSTRA from 2018-2020. In this project, Metsähallitus and the County Administrative Board started to work very close together. Now the cooperation between the site managers and other staff is an essential part of the work and a large contributing factor to the joint management plan. The project produced the first joint plan, which was an interpretation plan for the whole site.
Sweden and Finland are very similar countries, which makes building cooperation easier. We found these following factors important:
A mindset that cooperation is important, and something that is worth to use resources for in the organizations at large.
A stable and predictable funding.
Resources for projects, both in the own organization to be able to run large projects, but also an availability of appropriate project funds to apply for.
Developing a consensus of what is important.
There were many lessons learned and knowledge that can be shared between organisations and there is a lot to learn from each other.
It was important to build on the different strengths of each organization to increase efficiency.
It is also important to involve the managers and directors in the cooperation, so that they also see the synergistic effects of collaborative planning. In our organizations the site managers are quite isolated and managing World Heritage is a small part of what our organizations do. So, with the strengthened cooperation, we have in fact created our own little team, albeit with the other team member in a different country.
A final lesson that we have learnt is that it is important to be a bit flexible to make things work in both countries with different management systems.
Linking SOUV, World Heritage values and attributes
Continuity in cooperation
Building Block 3- Awareness Raising, as a Tool for Change
Restoration awareness raising
Future4All Malawi
In order to achieve behaviour change among communities, well-crafted environmental restoration and climate-smart agriculture messages should be disseminated in a persuasive, exciting, and attractive way that is friendly to all and culturally accepted by respective communities. Well-known practical examples are demonstrated for easy understanding of the program.
The youths will innovatively use their talents and available exciting resources to reach out to their audience which is the community with messages about climate-smart agriculture, forest, and land restoration, the negative impacts of land and forest degradation, and how they can collectively address the problem.
The use of virtual media such as Forest and Land Restoration videos on the big screen (projector) and, use of arts such as drama and music draw a lot of community members to excitedly listen to messages that are being put across.
Building Block 2- Youth Engagement as Future Restoration Champions
Youth taking a lead in restoration efforts
Future4All Malawi
Youth engagement as future restoration champions
Future4All Malawi
Youth engagement as future restoration champions
Future4All Malawi
The youths who constitute about half the population of Malawi mobilise themselves and get into youth clubs. They plan to address environmental issues that affect them directly and indirectly in their communities. This is an energetic and innovative category of people that focuses on shaping a better future through awareness raising in the community by use of arts such as drama, music, poems and community meetings. They work very collaboratively with traditional leaders who support them by giving them access to land for restoration, calling community members for community meetings and enforcement of community norms.
Half of Malawi’s 17.6 million inhabitants who are youth aged 10-35 years should be organized in youth clubs to actively participate in the program. Youth clubs should identify degraded forests and land that need to be restored in collaboration with traditional leaders. The youths will raise tree seedlings, and plant and take care of them by protecting them from harmful bushfires, encroachment, and wanton cutting. School youths learn the restoration skills and practice them within the school with support from the school authorities.
Understanding the huge future benefits of forest and land restoration motivates youths to actively participate and own the program. For example, apart from natural regeneration, Chibwana Youth Club plans to plant over 4000 pine trees every year in the Kirk Range Mountains that will help them when sold to build school blocks, provide them with capital to start small businesses, and pay school fees for needy students. That means the youths feel that they are not only program participants but also beneficiaries.
The program is community-driven which means the youths in schools and youth clubs, as well as community members, especially women in natural resource management committees, are both participants in, and beneficiaries of, restoration efforts. The program enjoys great support from the Traditional Leaders. The community decides where restoration should be done, and how and when it should be done. This approach ensures community ownership and sustainability of the program.
The community should be leading the process and be a key part of the activities throughout the program.
Engaging early with the Traditional Leaders in the community, allows buy-in and has enabled the youth club’s to be successful. For example the Traditional Leaders allocated pieces of land in the mountains to youth’s within the community, for them to protect and manage.
Active participation of women, allows the effective establishment of the tree nurseries which the women in the community manage and sustain, this enables them to apply their knowledge on natural regeneration and agro-forestry practically, which enabled these practices to be used them in their own land.
Directly involving the schools in the local area has enabled access to the youths, where we have been able to help support the young people in growing and managing tree nurseries and woodlots.
Local knowledge and participation is crucial. They bring a sense of ownership, the communities feel part of the solution and more invested in its success, which makes the program impact more sustainable.
The program is community-driven which means the youths in schools and youth clubs as well as community members especially women in natural resource management committees are both participants in and beneficiaries of restoration efforts. The program enjoys great support from the traditional leaders. The community decides where restoration should be done, and how and when it should be done.
The community should be leading the process and be a key part of the activities throughout the program.
Engaging early with the Traditional leaders in the community, this allows buy-in and has enabled the youth club’s to be successful. For example the traditional leaders allocated these pieces of land in the mountains to youth’s within the community, for them to protect and manage.
Active participation of women, allows the effective establishment of the tree nurseries which the women in the community manage and sustain, this enables them to apply their knowledge on natural regeneration and agro-forestry practically and allows them to go on to use in their own land
Directly involving the schools in the local area has enabled access to the youths and also we have implemented tree nurseries and woodlots that the children can support the establishment of.
Local knowledge and participation is crucial. They bring a sense of ownership, the communities feel part of the solution and more invested in its success, which makes the program impact more sustainable.
