Our work

Advisor on nature to the World Heritage Committee

The IUCN World Heritage Team coordinates IUCN's work as the official advisor on nature to the World Heritage Committee, including: 

• evaluating new nominations
• assessing existing sites' conservation sites
• advising the World Heritage Committee
• training World Heritage practitioners
• developing World Heritage resources
• compiling key facts and figures on natural World Heritage 

IUCN Initiatives on World Heritage 

Alongside the work as advisor, the World Heritage Team leads on and supports a series of initiatives to make the World Heritage Convention more effective and relevant to global conservation, including:

• Supporting the Climate Action Toolkit for World Heritage
• Benefits of natural World Heritage
• Climate change and World Heritage
• Impact assessments
• Geodiversity, World Heritage and IUCN
• Areas with multiple international designations
• Connecting practice for the nature and culture sectors
• World Heritage analyses: a digital lab
• Heritage Heroes Awards 2016
• Other 

IUCN's broader work on World Heritage

IUCN has over 1,400 Member organizations (including both government and civil society organisations), convenes a network of over 17,000 experts, and has offices in more than 60 countries. Collectively, IUCN supports the protection and conservation of natural World Heritage in countless ways, from its official advisory role to the World Heritage Convention, to being directly responsible for managing a site, to collecting crucial data on species and climate, supporting rangers, providing funding for direct conservation action, or generating sustainable livelihoods for communities. IUCN Members and Commissions highlighted some of this work - and explored new opportunities - at the RCFs, including for Africa and Europe / Central Asia. 

Some examples of IUCN's broader work on World Heritage can be found below. 

• IUCN WCPA Ranger Awards: Supporting the commitment of the rangers in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Philippines);
   
• IUCN SOS: Conserving lemurs in the Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar); Protecting mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park (DRC); Rehabilitating strategic patrol posts in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (DRC); Preventing illegal activities in Mount Kenya National Park (Kenya); Restoring elephant fence in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (Zambia); 
   
• Galapagos Conservancy: Improve nesting habitat for the waved albatross in the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
   
• Blue Natural Capital: Support financial sustainability of the Belize Barrier Reef (Belize)
   
• WWF: #SaveOurHeritage campaign to protect natural World Heritage sites
   
• Franklinia Foundation: Supporting the conservation of threatened three species in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka), Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve (Seychelles), Hyrcanian Forests (Iran), and Socotra Archipelago (Yemen)
   
• Ecotourism training benefiting 107 families in the Río Abiseo National Park (Peru)
   
• IUCN ARO: Equipment to establish SMART patrol monitoring center to conserve and rehabilitate tiger populations in Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries (Thailand)
   
• IUCN Viet Nam: Reduce domestic solid waste in Hoi An Ancient Town (Viet Nam)
   
• IUCN MED: Test adaptive climate change management measures in the Doñana National Park (Spain) (Life Adapta)
   
• IUCN Oceania: Developing the fourth edition of the Pacific Regional World Heritage Action Plan 2021-2025; supporting East Rennell communities together with Birdlife International and building climate resilience (KIWA Initiative); 
   
• IUCN ORMACC: Protecting the natural and cultural heritage of the Selva Maya (including Sian Ka'an, Tikal National Park, Tropical Forests of Calakmul)
   
• Sahara Conservation: Reversing the decline of endangered fauna in Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserves (supported by IUCN Save Our Species, co-funded by the European Union and Saint Louis Zoo) including a 10-yr roadmap for Dama Gazelle Conservation, deployment of 40 camera traps and over 8,500 km patrolled by Protected Area Management Unit agents.