IUCN is the official advisor on nature to the World Heritage Committee, which is the governing body of the Convention and is made up of 21 of the Convention’s signatory States Parties, chaired this year by India. Over the past year, IUCN has undertaken extensive research and on the ground visits, to provide technical recommendations on the evaluation of potential new sites for inscription on the World Heritage List, and on the state of conservation of existing natural World Heritage sites including those on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Over 40 state of conservation reports on the nature conservation needs of World Heritage sites spanning 34 countries will be examined (for detailed list click here). These reports address a range of conservation issues and challenges affecting natural World Heritage including climate change, infrastructure development pressure, extractive activities, human rights, and armed conflict. Of the reports, 17 are for sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

IUCN will present its evaluations for seven sites that are being nominated for their nature conservation values (for detailed list click here), and contribute advice on a further five sites nominated as cultural landscapes that express the relationship between people and the natural environment, as well as two sites where minor boundary modifications are proposed.

A range of conservation issues and challenges affecting World Heritage will be discussed in this intergovernmental forum.  

As the Committee meeting starts, IUCN calls for action on three key issues.

Firstly, there is a need for action on the imbalance of the World Heritage List, and to support regions and countries that are underrepresented. An Open-ended Working Group of States, created by the World Heritage Committee during the extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023), has been discussing the need to strengthen cooperation and support to address gaps on the List, and IUCN notes a range of world-class nature conservation sites that can help ensure World Heritage is properly inclusive of the natural wealth of our planet.

Secondly, taking a human rights-based approach and ensuring participation of all stakeholders is vital for the World Heritage Committee to make fully informed decisions. It is important that Indigenous peoples, local communities and civil society are given the space to speak at the Committee meeting, and especially to have the chance to give their view before the Committee adopts its decisions. In this regard, we welcome that the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum for World Heritage (IIPFWH) are organising a side event on 24 July, focussing on advancing respect of Indigenous Peoples’ values and rights, including the importance of Free Prior and Informed Consent for all World Heritage listings.

Thirdly, IUCN considers it essential that the World Heritage Convention increases its focus on nature conservation outcomes and including the key contributions of World Heritage to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the linked global goals. In this context, UNESCO, Brazil and IUCN will host a major side event on 27 July to reinforce the contribution of the World Heritage Convention to global climate and biodiversity targets, and how to mobilise the commitments and finances needed for effective action.

IUCN through its collaboration with ICCROM in the World Heritage Leadership programme is also co-organising the 6th edition of the World Heritage Site Managers' Forum. The Forum focuses on empowering site managers by fostering international networks, and facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences in managing World Heritage sites. This year, over 80 site managers from 34 countries will explore topics such as the IUCN Green List, nature-culture linkages, disaster risk management, and inclusive management. The Wildlife Institute of India, a long-standing IUCN Member, will also highlight some of its work.

The annual World Heritage Committee meeting this year runs from 21 to 31 July 2024.

The livestream of the World Heritage Committee meeting is available here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/46COM/.

All documents for the World Heritage Committee meeting are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/46COM/documents/.

A list of selected side events is available at:
46th session of the World Heritage Committee - events | IUCN

IUCN recommendations

• IUCN Evaluation report of new nominations (WHC/24/46.COM/INF.8B2 and WHC/24/46.COM/INF.8B2.Add)
• State of conservation reports for sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger (WHC/24/46.COM/7A, WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add, WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add.2, and WHC/24/46.COM/7A.Add.3) 
• State of conservation reports for sites on the World Heritage List (WHC/24/46.COM/7B, WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add, WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add.2, WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add.3, and WHC/24/46.COM/7B.Add.4)

About IUCN and the World Heritage Convention

Since the inception of the World Heritage Convention in 1972, IUCN has played a unique role as the official advisory body under the World Heritage Convention on natural World Heritage. This involves leading the technical recommendation of all new nominations of natural and mixed World Heritage sites, monitoring the status of existing natural and mixed World Heritage sites and the newly added Preliminary Assessment process to provide direct advice on the feasibility of potential nominations to states parties.

IUCN also works independently on the Convention to support World Heritage sites globally though our extensive network of programs and policies led though our central Secretariat team, our expert commissions, and our member organisations.

Find out more about IUCN's work on World Heritage here and discover natural World Heritage sites here.