World Heritage properties are facing increasingly complex challenges including development pressures, climate change, natural hazards, inadequate and insufficient maintenance and conservation. Currently, 86% of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List across 147 States Parties have experienced management issues and are supported through the Convention’s Reactive Monitoring process to address such challenges.
These trends highlight the urgent need for robust, integrated management approaches to better protect Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), link concerns for culture and nature and ensure that the rights and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are respected in the protection and management of heritage. They also underscore the importance of equipping management institutions, site managers, and those involved in the management processes of World Heritage with the tools and resources needed to establish and strengthen management systems.
The manual is available for download here: Managing World Heritage - UNESCO Digital Library