UNESCO implements various operational projects that aim to increase the capacity of its Member-States to conserve tangible heritage and to promote international norms and standards, best practices and latest methods involving techniques and ethics of restoration and conservation. UNESCO acts above all as an agency of technical cooperation, establishing partnerships with donors and technical and scientific institutions.

In Afghanistan, the UNESCO Office in Kabul is implementing several operational conservation projects in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre at different sites, such as in Bamiyan and Jam (both a World Heritage Site) and in Herat, for which funding was granted by the governments of Japan, Italy, Switzerland and Norway.