Abstract
Today, more than 1000 World Heritage (WH) sites are inscribed on UNESCO’s list, 228 of which are natural and mixed heritage sites. Once focused primarily on conservation, World Natural Heritage (WNH) sites are increasingly seen as promoters of sustainable regional development. Sustainability-oriented regions, it is assumed, are safeguards for conservation and positively influence local conservation goals. Within UNESCO, discussions regarding the integration of sustainable development in official policies have recently gained momentum. In this article, we investigate the extent to which WNH sites trigger sustainability-oriented approaches in surrounding regions, and how such approaches in turn influence the WNH site and its protection. The results of the study are on the one hand based on a global survey with more than 60% of the WNH sites listed in 2011, and on the other hand on a complementary literature research. Furthermore, we analyze the policy framework necessary to support WNH sites in this endeavor. We conclude that a regional approach to WNH management is necessary to ensure that WNH sites support sustainable regional development effectively, but that the core focus of WNH status must remain environmental conservation.
Highlights
World Heritage (WH) status was established as a conservation tool to safeguard the world’s most outstanding natural and cultural heritage for future generations
We investigate the extent to which World Natural Heritage (WNH) sites trigger sustainability-oriented approaches in surrounding regions, and how such approaches in turn influence the WNH site and its protection
We conclude that a regional approach to WNH management is necessary to ensure that WNH sites support sustainable regional development effectively, but that the core focus of WNH status must remain environmental conservation
Summary
World Heritage (WH) status was established as a conservation tool to safeguard the world’s most outstanding natural and cultural heritage for future generations. With the increase in the number of World Natural Heritage (WNH) sites and changes in paradigms of protected area management, societal expectations towards this conservation “label” have changed significantly. Expectations range from increasing visitor numbers to direct economic impacts and contributions to sustainable development [3,4,5]. These developments are reflected within UNESCO, where the role of WNH sites as triggers for sustainable regional development beyond the WNH site itself is increasingly discussed [6,7,8,9] and encouraged, respectively [10]. The underlying assumption of such approaches is that the embedding of a WNH site in a sustainability-oriented region is an additional safeguard for the protection of the site
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