Regional study aims to improve the representation of African World Heritage

The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and the School of African Heritage (EPA) organized an online regional validation workshop on 26 August 2020 for the thematic study report on the upstream gaps of African properties on the World Heritage List entitled "Preparation of nominations for African properties on the World Heritage List." The workshop brought together experts and partners in African World Heritage, including representatives from UNESCO World Heritage Center (WHC) and the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and International Center for Studies for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Properties (ICCROM), and the Center for the Development of Heritage in Africa (CHDA), to identify the thematic and regional gaps in the World Heritage List in Africa and to propose a list of priority nomination projects that could be the subject of technical and financial support over the next 6 years (2021-2026).

The study, entitled “Defining Properties on the World Heritage List in Africa: A Gap Analysis Study 2020,” addressed the low representation of African natural and cultural heritage sites in the UNESCO World Heritage List, which is currently 12 percent with 137 of the 1121 World Heritage sites located in the Africa region. The study also analyzed the types of properties inscribed, which include 89 cultural, 42 natural and 6 mixed sites, and opportunities for expansion in terms of geographical regions, categories and sub-categories.

Of the 11 African countries without any World Heritage sites, five are found in the Eastern Africa region—Comoros, Djibouti, Rwanda, Somalia and South Sudan—and face challenges to nominating World Heritage properties ranging from financial limitations to conflict and insecurity.

“Lack of national financial resources to support the development of nomination files should not inhibit countries from having World Heritage sites,” said Ms. Karalyn Monteil, Programme Specialist for Culture from UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, who encouraged the African World Heritage Fund to prioritize support to countries that do not yet have any properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The workshop discussed emerging thematic areas for nominations, such as Modern African Heritage, and also addressed opportunities for more inscriptions of sites linked to slavery and the slave trade, the African Heritage Liberation Movement, and colonial-influenced cities. Participants also raised the issue of the considerable scope of natural heritage protection in Africa and gave examples such as the United Republic of Tanzania, which contains an estimated one-third of its territory in protected areas under the World Heritage Convention with sites such as Kilimanjaro National Park, Selous Game Reserve, Serengeti National Park, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The workshop concluded with a reflection on support needed for the way forward, which includes awareness-raising and capacity building.

In the Eastern Africa region, which is home to 34 World Heritage sites, nomination files are currently being prepared by many Eastern African State Parties to the World Heritage Convention, including Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, while other countries are preparing or updating their Tentative Lists of potential World Heritage sites.

For more information on the World Heritage Convention and the nomination process, please see whc.unesco.org.