I joined the team to review and devise directions for enhancing and increasing the access and visibility of the Caribbean in UNESCO World Heritage programme.
The review meeting was held in on 28 November 2014, in Havana, Cuba,Caribbean States Parties to the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted the Caribbean Action Plan for World Heritage 2015–2019.
The Caribbean Action Plan was prepared by States Parties with the Support of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and the UNESCO Offices in Havana, Kingston and Port-au-Prince, in close cooperation with the Convention’s Advisory Bodies ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN, the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados, the University of Curacao, the University of Technology (UTECH) of Jamaica, the University of San Gerónimo in Havana,
and the University of Havana.
Considering interregional cooperation within the framework of the Small Islands Development States (SIDS), the Plan also benefitted from contributions from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
In compliance with the decision of the World Heritage Committee (38 COM 10B.4, June 2014), the Caribbean Action Plan presents an operational framework to facilitate the implementation of the World Heritage Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean in the specific context of the Caribbean.
It also enriches and gives follow-up to the Kingston Action Plan adopted in 2013, and proposes an updated Caribbean Capacity Building Programme for World Heritage.
The Plan provides a cooperation framework to support the effective implementation of the 1972 Convention in the Caribbean, by setting 7 common objectives, 19 expected outcomes and the priority actions needed to achieve them. It promotes sub-regional cooperation in view of jointly mobilizing the necessary human and economic resources.
The implementation of the Plan will further contribute to achieving the worldwide objectives concerning the credibility of the World Heritage List, effective conservation of World Heritage properties, capacity building, communication to increase public awareness and support for World Heritage, and enhancement of the involvement of communities in the
identification and management of World Heritage.
Following ratification by the Bahamas in 2014, all Caribbean States are party to the World Heritage Convention. At the end of 2014, there were 21 World Heritage properties in the Caribbean (15 cultural and 6 natural sites), and 46 on the states’ respective tentative lists.
Caribbean Action Plan for World Heritage 2015-2019
Sub-regional priorities
The elaboration of the Action Plan was underpinned by the identification of challengesconsidered as sub-regional priorities for the State Parties on which to work in the Caribbean over the next five years:
- Conservation and management
Specific policies and laws related to heritage must be reviewed regularly and incorporate a local approach. It also has to strengthen coordination and communication between different levels of government and stakeholder agencies and individuals and ensure funding sources, either through specific budget lines or other external input. In terms of sites management plans, they have to be updated, considering more comprehensive approaches to heritage management and encourage the participation of local communities in the processes of conservation and heritage management that concern them. For all that the presence of highly qualified specialists is necessary. - Nominations and tentative lists
There are still gaps in the elaboration of the inventories, situation that affects the updating of the Tentative List. Despite the wealth of cultural landscapes in the Caribbean, particularly those related to the Slave Route Sites of Memory, and its presence in some tentative lists, their identification, protection, conservation and promotion is still not
enough. The identification and preparation of potential nominations should be made more in-depth and rigorous in order to meet the requirements established under the Convention.
States should be aware that the inscription on the World Heritage List is not the end of the process, but a process that allows the effective identification and protection of cultural and natural heritage in the Caribbean sub-region - Effects of climate change and risk management SIDS, due to their small size, limited resources and geographical dispersion, suffer unique
and particular vulnerabilities to natural disasters and the negative effects of climate change. The Caribbean region has vulnerable coastlines and is constantly affected by hurricanes, prolonged periods of drought or rain with flooding and other weather phenomena which affect many of its structures. Capacity building, technology transfer, recognition of local knowledge, access to technical assistance and funding are essential. - Community participation
In 2007, the World Heritage Committee added to its strategic objectives the fifth ‘C’, Communities, emphasizing the important role of local communities in the preservation of World Heritage. This aspect is a key factor in the Caribbean sub-region since there is little participation of local people in the process of identification, conservation, protection and
management of heritage sites. Similarly, the value of local knowledge in managing disaster risks must be recognized. Cultural and natural heritage management must be integrated into local sustainable development policies. Capacity-building efforts are essential for local
communities to manage sites and reap the economic benefits associated with the promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage. - Sustainable Tourism
In recent years nature-related tourism has increased in the Caribbean and certainly cultural tourism has the potential to become a great attraction for visitors. It is necessary to implement policies and strategies to promote responsible tourism and ensure its low impact on heritage sites. The cultural and natural sector and the tourism industry must
work together, and thus contribute to improving visitor experiences and reinvest the benefits collected on the site for its conservation, to create jobs and improve infrastructure and services for its population and visitors. - Capacity Building
Capacity building for conservation and management should be a fundamental line of action for the Caribbean. Personnel working in this sector should receive more training, should increase in number and achieve stability in their job. They have to be formed in a deep understanding of the application of the 1972 Convention, management of natural heritage or management of disaster risks, among many other topics. Professionals who have already worked with UNESCO’s capacity building programme for World Heritage (CCBP) should be fully involved in the region to further train and develop heritage management skills. - Networks and partnerships
It is necessary to identify NGOs and private initiatives interested in developing conservation and restoration projects. It is essential to develop programmes and/or specific research projects for the benefit of World Heritage properties, creating agreements with universities/research centres, both local and overseas. It is important to design and implement educational programmes in schools and continue to sensitize all stakeholders involved in the conservation, protection, management and promotion of heritage. The role of new technologies in building networks and alliances should be valued. Priority must be
given to the creation of a network and database of the professionals trained in this regard. - Implementation strategy
The implementation of the Caribbean Action Plan should serve to mobilize resources for the effective conservation and management of cultural and natural heritage, to show that heritage conservation contributes to human, social and economic development, to promote
participation and cooperation, to measure progress achieved in heritage conservation and management, and to mitigate the effects of climate change. It will integrate the global Small Island Developing States (SIDS) framework. - Resource mobilization
To implement the Plan, States Parties should mobilize economic and human resources from public and private origin, including resources trained and tooled through the UNESCO capacity building processes.
States Parties should also strengthen existing financial mechanisms and explore new funding sources. To achieve this, the actions of the Plan should be included in (inter)governmental development agendas, promoted among other UN programmes, funds and agencies, and among other governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as the private sector, in particular through improved partnership mechanisms. - Contribution to sustainable development
The Plan’s implementation should show that heritage is a repository of knowledge, a driver of economic growth, and a symbolic force for intercultural dialogue, cooperation, social cohesion, mutual understanding and conflict resolution that helps addressing the
challenges of an increasingly complex world. This will be facilitated, among others, through the development of an integrated and comprehensive information and knowledge-management system. - Enhanced participation and cooperation
The Plan will serve to improve the participation of communities, professionals, cultural actors, governmental and non-governmental organizations, experts and research centres in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Particular attention is to be given to the Caribbean youth and to women, to ensure that their views on the
identification of heritage categories, on their conservation needs, associated values and needed management measures are fully taken into account. The plan should also facilitate establishing effective cooperation mechanisms among States Parties, the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (IHE), the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOCUNESCO), UNESCO Category II Centres and other specialized networks. - Monitoring and evaluation
The Plan should serve States Parties and UNESCO to monitor the progress achieved in updating heritage policies to include additional heritage categories, updating inventories and tentative lists, enhancing heritage protection, conservation and management, strengthening capacities, ensuring community involvement, establishing partnerships, reinforcing outreach programmes, and measuring the contribution of the heritage sector to local sustainable development, both in human and in economic
terms. To implement the actions and achieve the expected outcome, the Plan includes a limited number of actions, tentatively prioritized to be implemented in the short term (S) medium-term (M) and long term (L) to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of results. - Mitigation of the effects of climate change
Considering the vulnerability of the Caribbean to natural disasters, one of the specific objectives of the Plan is to support developing full risk preparedness plan, postdisaster needs assessments and recovery plans. Most activities in this field, such as the collection of baseline data and the identification of risk reduction measures, or priority actions of a human recovery plan, also serve to achieve the expected results of the other objectives of the Plan.