Capacity building of cultural and natural heritage professionals from Niue, Samoa and Tonga with regard to the preparation of Tentative Lists and World Heritage nominations.

Within the framework of the Action Plan for the implementation of the World Heritage - Pacific 2009 Programme, and with financial support from the Spanish Funds-in-Trust and Nordic World Heritage Foundation, a training workshop for natural and cultural heritage professionals from Niue, Samoa and Tonga has been proposed in Apia, Samoa.

International experts in the field of world cultural and natural heritage will provide participants with technical training in the identification and preparation of site nominations for World Heritage listing.

Field visits to potential cultural and natural sites of Samoa will be conducted to provide in-the-field experience showing how a site could qualify for World Heritage listing, which criteria could apply to it, how the core and buffer zones can be determined and how the site should be managed in the long term.

The workshop will also contribute to on-going World Heritage projects concerning the preparation of Tentative Lists of Samoa and Tonga as well as Objective-7 of the Action Plan.