As part of the General Trust Fund (FUT) with UNESCO, the Government of Flanders (Kingdom of Belgium) supports activities of the World Heritage Centre in view of enhancing the management and representativity of natural World Heritage sites, in particular marine and African sites.
The Government of Flanders has a long-standing tradition in mapping and marine sciences, with a history that dates back to the 16th century, including the geographer Gerardus Mercator whose map projection was so far advanced it is still used today for maritime navigation. In this connection, the Trust Fund has supported the World Heritage Centre Marine Programme in several areas, including:
- Development of a baseline assessment of management effectiveness in marine World Heritage sites;
- Development of practical guidance to ensure a more ecosystem-based approach to the management of marine World Heritage sites;
- Development of a regional overview of potential areas with Outstanding Universal Value in the Indian Ocean, with a focus on areas under jurisdiction of African countries;
- Strengthening the foundation for the development of a strong, solid and sustainable World Heritage Marine Programme from 2010 to 2020;
- Facilitate a breakthrough towards the removal of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (Belize) from the World Heritage List in Danger in 2017;
- Strengthen the sharing of best practices and replication of success stories from the South African World Heritage site iSimangaliso Wetland Park to other marine World Heritage sites.
The Trust Fund is also supporting:
- The engagement of indigenous and local communities in conservation and governance of the Okavango Delta World Heritage Site in Botswana,
- Technical assistance to national teams of experts responsible for the preparation of a new nomination dossier (Bale Mountains National Park in Ethiopia), one nomination dossier for a significant boundary modification (Simien National Park in Ethiopia), and the feasibility of two transboundary extensions of World Heritage properties (Okavango Delta in Botswana to Angola and Namibia, and Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas in Zimbabwe to Zambia),
- The engagement of the private sector in the conservation of natural World Heritage sites through a more strategic approach at eliminating extractives activities and other activities which can impact negatively on the Outstanding Universal Value,
- Strengthening capacity and resilience of natural World Heritage sites in a changing climate.
Flanders and UNESCO
Partnerships / Activities (12)
- Africa Nature
- Engaging Local Communities in the Stewardship of World Heritage (COMPACT)
- Engaging local communities in the conservation of the Okavango Delta World Heritage site
- Historic Urban Landscapes Workshops on the Swahili Coast of Africa
- Natural World Heritage
- Sustainable Tourism Capacity Building
- World Heritage Cities Programme
- World Heritage Marine Programme
- World Heritage Marine Sites - Best Practice guide
- World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme
- World Heritage at the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014: the promise of Sydney
- World Heritage online Map Platform
News (32)
- First meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the environmental DNA initiative 04-Jul-2022
- Innovative eDNA initiative at UN Ocean Conference 28-Jun-2022
- UNESCO welcomes commitments made by Equinor and Responsible Jewellery Council to protect World Heritage 23-Jun-2022
- Call for geospatial data on World Heritage properties 29-Apr-2022
- Pilot eDNA sampling campaign in Corsica 30-Mar-2022
- Increasing engagement of Chinese banks on No-Go commitment 16-Dec-2021
- UNESCO Calls For Substantial Investment In Science To Protect Marine World Heritage Against Climate Impact 17-Nov-2021
- Online map platform for World Heritage announced 29-Oct-2021
- UNESCO launches global eDNA project to study vulnerability of species to climate change at marine World Heritage sites 19-Oct-2021
- International Hydropower Association announces new commitment to World Heritage sites and protected areas 06-Sep-2021
- UNESCO World Heritage-related events at the 2021 IUCN World Conservation Congress 02-Sep-2021
- Marine World Heritage: 2020-2021 Annual Overview 22-Apr-2021
- Marine World Heritage: 50 Beacons of Hope in a changing ocean 09-Mar-2020
- World’s flagship marine protected areas gather in milestone conference toward United Nations 2030 Agenda 10-Sep-2019
- Angola, Botswana and Namibia co-manage shared river system of the Okavango Delta 04-Jun-2019
- Strengthening marine World Heritage in Sudan through South-South cooperation 12-Oct-2018
- Spearheading a global conservation movement: Marine World Heritage 2018 annual report 06-Feb-2018
- Children call on world leaders to save the ocean, launch #My Ocean Pledge campaign at World Oceans Day event 08-Jun-2017
- Celebrating a decade of Marine World Heritage 20-Dec-2016
- New partnership will shed light on impact from fisheries on World Heritage marine sites 15-Mar-2016
- Annual Report 2015 World Heritage Marine Programme 19-Feb-2016
- The Promise of Sydney conveys World Heritage agenda for the next decade 19-Jan-2016
- Stepping up capacity to assist East Rennell’s removal from Danger List 26-Nov-2015
- Building capacity in the Galapagos Islands to strengthen fisheries compliance 14-Aug-2015
- Managing effectively the world’s most iconic marine protected areas: A Best Practice Guide 25-Jun-2015
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area sets path for sustainable tourism 24-Mar-2015
- World Heritage stakeholders come together to develop a sustainable tourism strategy for Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls 02-Feb-2015
- Belize agrees to Chart Road Map solving Critical Conservation Issues to remove Belize Barrier Reef from Danger List 27-Jan-2015
- IUCN World Parks Congress 2014: Parks, people, planet: inspiring solutions 05-Nov-2014
- Managing Marine World Heritage: Our Crown Jewels of the Ocean 17-Oct-2013
- New World Heritage state of conservation information system accessible to public 05-Dec-2012
- UNESCO and the Regional Government of Flanders sign a Trust Fund Agreement for the support of UNESCO’s activities in the field of heritage. 02-Nov-2010
Events (10)
- High-level event: UNESCO Marine World Heritage & the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in the framework of the Ocean Decade 17-Nov-2021-17-Nov-2021
- UNESCO Conference: Identifying Critical Science Gaps at Marine World Heritage Sites 04-Oct-2021-04-Oct-2021
- Technical meeting: Transboundary cooperation for protecting the Cubango-Okavango River Basin and improving the integrity of the Okavango Delta World Heritage property 25-Jul-2019-25-Aug-2019
- Marine World Heritage Expert Meeting - Sudan 09-Oct-2018-12-Oct-2018
- #MyOceanPledge 08-Jun-2017-09-Jun-2017
- Building a global network of site managers 27-Aug-2016-31-Aug-2016
- Technical support mission to the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System 19-Jan-2015-26-Jan-2015
- World Heritage Marine Programme celebrates a decade of conservation success 14-Nov-2014
- Second global World Heritage marine site managers meeting 18-Oct-2013-20-Oct-2013
- Comparative Regional assessment of potential new Marine World Heritage sites in the Indian Ocean 01-Feb-2011-01-Jun-2011