The World Natural Heritage Management and Training Centre for Asia and the Pacific Region, a Category II Centre at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII, India) will co-organize a workshop under the auspices of UNESCO. The International Training Workshop on “Enhancing Capacity for Effective Management of Coastal and Marine World Heritage Sites of the Asia-Pacific Region,” organized jointly with GIZ-India and the West Bengal Forest Department at the Sundarbans National Park World Heritage site, West Bengal, India, will take place from 26 to 28 February 2016.

Under its mandate, The Natural World Heritage Management and Training for the Asia and the Pacific Category II Centre is responsible for catering the needs of about 50 countries in the entire Asia-Pacific region, mainly by building the capacity of all those professionals and bodies involved with world natural heritage sites. The main objectives of the workshop are to:
        1. Sensitise the participants to the existing policy and legal issues, international guidelines and framework of management planning concerning Coastal and Marine World Heritage Sites (WHS).
        2. Equip the site managers to deal with disaster events and adopt risk reduction strategies.
        3. Introduce the concept of ‘climate proofing’, management of climate change and adoption of mitigation measures.
        4. Share experiences and best practices in Coastal & Marine WHS management in the region.
        5. Evolve a road map towards effective management of Coastal and Marine WHS in the region.