A regional capacity-building Workshop on "Assessment of Vulnerability of Cultural and Natural World Heritage Properties to Disasters and Climate Change" was held at the Peking University of China from 6 to 12 December 2009, organised jointly by the World Heritage Centre, ICCROM and the World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (WHITR-AP).

The Workshop, funded through the World Heritage Fund, the Regular Programme of UNESCO and WHITR-AP, targeted national officials and World Heritage site managers from 24 countries in the Asia and the Pacific Region, strengthening their understanding of the risks affecting their properties and of the possible methods to mitigate them. More importantly, the activity was intended as a pilot for the possible development of a regular training course on this topic that WHITR-AP would offer to heritage practitioners within the region, in cooperation with ICCROM and other institutions around the world.

Among the outcomes of the Beijing Workshop is a plan of action listing a series of follow up actions to strengthen the implementation of the Strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, and the "Beijing Appeal", a message addressed by the participants to the world leaders attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen (COP15, 7-19 December 2009).

Partners

  • WHITRAP - UNESCO World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for Asia and Pacific Region
  • WHC - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  • ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)

In collaboration with:

  • Asia-Pacific States Parties to the World Heritage Convention
  • Management authorities of cultural and natural World Heritage sites
  • UNESCO National Commissions in Asia and the Pacific