The Australian Government has committed $510,000 to support the initial phase of the Climate Action for World Heritage through Capacity Development Project (the Project).
The World Heritage Leadership (WHL) programme will deliver the funding, as a partnership between:
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre
- International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
- International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
- International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The project is part of larger program of work focused on enabling better consideration of climate change in World Heritage conservation and management.
Climate change is a global threat that poses a significant impact to the Outstanding Universal Value of many World Heritage properties.
This project aims to enable more consistent treatment and consideration of climate change impacts on World Heritage properties, and build the capacity of State Parties and the World Heritage system to better identify and respond to these threats as well as embedding climate action in World Heritage management.
The WHL programme is a capacity building initiative, through which the Project can harness the strong network of experts and stakeholders in the World Heritage system.
This project will evaluate existing World Heritage climate change tools, methodologies, resources and data, and convene key World Heritage and climate change experts in 2023-24 to develop standardised guidance and a toolkit to assist in taking climate action for World Heritage properties.
As a State Party to the World Heritage Convention, Australia is providing international assistance to support the identification, protection, conservation, presentation, and rehabilitation of World Heritage.
This partnership is an opportunity for Australia to collaborate with UNESCO and the World Heritage advisory bodies and support practical action to build capacity across the World Heritage system. It will build on work Australia has already done, including the CSIRO-developed Climate Adaptation Toolkit for World Heritage sites, published in January 2023.
Australia's contribution demonstrates our international environmental leadership in supporting the World Heritage system to take action to address climate change impacting on World Heritage properties.
