The World Heritage Convention at 50: management, credibility and sustainable development

Purpose: The World Heritage Convention has reached a milestone and this year, in 2022, it is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The aim of this article is to review whether and how the goals of the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (2012-2022) have been reached.

Methodology/approach: This article starts by considering the outcomes for three of the SAP goals, dealing with protection and management; the credibility of the World Heritage List; and sustainable development, using additional information from the final implementation report of the SAP (UNESCO, 2021a), which provides key performance indicators and the implementation status for each goal and associated outcomes. This articles then compares and contrasts available data, trends, and examples to provide more in-depth analyses of the implementation of the three goals. Data have been gathered from my own research and from the work of other academics and practitioners.

Findings: The article finds several key positive changes, including the recent revisions of the Operational Guidelines to include provisions from the 2015 Policy on World Heritage and Sustainable Development. However, a number of concerning or worsening trends relating to the protection and management of the World Heritage List, its increasing lack of credibility, and sustainable development make it difficult to conclude that the implementation of the goals has been positive. The article concludes with suggestions for addressing these issues.

Originality: This paper fills a gap, as not much has yet been published on the state of implementation of the Convention at 50 years old.