Policy Document on the Impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage Properties

The issue of the impacts of climate change on World Heritage natural and cultural properties was brought to the attention of the World Heritage Committee in 2005 by a group of concerned organisations and individuals. The Committee requested (Decision 29 COM 7B.a) the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Convention’s Advisory Bodies, interested States Parties and the petitioners, to convene a broad working group of experts to review the nature and scale of the risks arising from climate change and prepare a strategy and report for dealing with the issue. In taking this decision the Committee noted ‘… that the impacts of climate change are affecting many and are likely to affect many more World Heritage properties, both natural and cultural, in the years to come’. The group of experts prepared a report on “Predicting and Managing the Effects of climate change on World Heritage’ (the Report), as well as a ‘Strategy to Assist States Parties to the Convention to Implement Appropriate Management Responses” (the Strategy).