Linking policy and management to the World Heritage Convention and the Outstanding Universal Value
OUV key values of the Wadden Sea World Heritage
Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
Wadden Sea Management Cycle
Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
The purpose is to add World Heritage-specific criteria and values to complement the existing nature conservation management, thus emphasizing that the World Heritage designation is the utmost international acknowledgment for a natural area.
The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (§ 111) state that an adaptive management cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and feedback is among the elements of effective management. In the SIMP development process, the existing TWSC management instruments (activities, policies, plans, and strategies) are organised and visualised in the corresponding phases of the adaptive management cycle (see graph).
To assess existing and potential positive and negative effects on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Wadden Sea World Heritage, ten key values were identified from the three criteria met by the Wadden Sea (method used in the Climate Vulnerability Index). A rapid expert assessment of the positive and negative effects of the SIMP key topics on each of the ten OUV key values supported the discussions of potential management activities (see graph).
An index-based rapid assessment of the vulnerability to climate change (Climate Vulnerability Index -CVI) using the OUV key values was done in 2021.
The World Heritage Convention sets out the duties of the State Parties, their roles in protecting and preserving the sites, and provides operational guidance on the Convention’s implementation.
TWSC was established in 1978 as a tool for cooperation and coordination of nature conservation. Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands have built independently, and jointly a comprehensive management system addressing key aspects.
Although much has already been achieved and the work towards important milestones is underway, there are still challenges to be faced.
On one hand, rapid expert assessments results of the positive and negative effects of the SIMP key topics on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) key values, in general, coincide with the results from the discussions and views of the policy and site managers. On the other hand, in-depth studies that can be reviewed and updated regularly are preferred if resources and time are available. To solve this, the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC) chose to integrate these assessments with the Quality Status Reports updated periodically by experts.
Documenting traditional food from Waluguru indigenous tribe
Tengeneza Generaration and Davie Masanja
We document and promote our work through art photography. Pictures are powerful, as they are visual materials that people can see. They make messages around conservation more impactful among the community members we work with.
We engage professional photographs to join and document expeditions. So far, we have a portfolio of more than 17,342 pictures.
Keen to involve artists in supporting conservation work.
Revisiting our local traditional conservation methods involved working with artists and cultural practitioners.
Art and culture is a tool Africans have always used and continue to use to educate wider communities to love their nature.
Visual art is the best tool to send a message faster and more powerful to communities, especially young people.
Art and culture reconnect personally to his/her roots.
We established strong partnerships with the Nature Reserves government authorities (Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TFS), as well as with the Department of Natural Resources and Tourism and Youth Development. They provide continuous support, whether it is the use of a vehicle, the delivery of permits, recommendation letters, or waive camping fees to our team and skills.
We also maintain good partnerships with local communities, who propose new activities, and new camping sites to extend the eco-tourism offer and support in installations of sign boards. EAMCEF provided funding $10,000 to support ecological and cultural tourism by empowering the Choma community found adjacent to the Uluguru mountains. Nafasi Art Space provided training in developing art program and fund $1000.
Report and continuous activities updates sharing with stakeholders.
Updating about and involving others in our work and cooperating with our partners have improved and shaped positive impact to our communities. For example they have formed an ecotourism group called Choma ecotourism group to manage ecological and cultural tourism development.
Reptile farming is well positioned to capitalize on emerging markets. Until recently, reptiles have been somewhat overlooked and undervalued due to colonial legacies and euro-centric agri-food tendencies towards warm-blooded livestock. Reptile products are mostly valued in the Global South where the impacts of climate change are predicted to be acute and the drivers for transformational change are dynamic. Dovetailing a novel agri-food sustainability concept with traditional cultural and culinary values in tropical regions offers unique economic opportunities. That said, future growth will depend on good farming practices and close supervision by veterinary and other authorities. Research on envionmental impacts and broader health implications (e.g., feeding unprocessed animal waste protein to reptile livestock) is essential.
The reptile industry holds substantial growth potential. Established local and international markets exist for meat, skins, pets, and various body parts used in the pharmaceutical industry (e.g. squalene oil). Farmers are typically linked to multiple revenue streams and financial risks are spread across multiple geographies. These economic opportunities are complimented by the ability to scale management inputs and outputs in accordance with adaptive physiologies in order to buffer farmers against the impacts of economic and environmental shocks.
Many reptile production models are expanding via vertical and horizontal integration (i.e., emergence of corporate factory farms). Development approaches that focus purely on economic profitability may compromise the viability of small-scale production models and threaten key animal welfare, environmental, and social sustainability credentials. The loss of democratic food systems presents a risk to regional food security and food sovereignty.
