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:
- A global environmental DNA project to study the biodiversity of UNESCO Marine World Heritage
- 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
News (38)
Wadden Sea youth starts off global UNESCO environmental DNA campaign
28 November 2022
Innovative eDNA initiative at UN Ocean Conference
28 June 2022
Call for geospatial data on World Heritage properties
29 April 2022
Pilot eDNA sampling campaign in Corsica
30 March 2022
Increasing engagement of Chinese banks on No-Go commitment
16 December 2021
Online map platform for World Heritage announced
29 October 2021
Marine World Heritage: 2020-2021 Annual Overview
22 April 2021
Celebrating a decade of Marine World Heritage
20 December 2016
Annual Report 2015 World Heritage Marine Programme
19 February 2016
Managing Marine World Heritage: Our Crown Jewels of the Ocean
17 October 2013
Events (10)
UNESCO Conference: Identifying Critical Science Gaps at Marine World Heritage Sites
4 Oct 2021 - 4 Oct 2021
Marine World Heritage Expert Meeting - Sudan
9 Oct 2018 - 12 Oct 2018
#MyOceanPledge
8 Jun 2017 - 9 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
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
1 Feb 2011 - 1 Jun 2011