Asia-Pacific Focal Point
"A Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and UNESCO on cooperation concerning World Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region"
The Asia-Pacific Focal Point (APFP) is a regional network for World Heritage Managers, established to share experience, knowledge and resources between countries in the region. The APFP will help Asia-Pacific countries adopt, and meet their obligations under the World Heritage Convention and will also help ensure best practice management of their World Heritage sites.
APFP News
Outcomes for the Pacific from the World Heritage Committee Meeting
The latest meeting of the World Heritage Committee from 2-10 July 2008 in Quebec, Canada, resulted in some very positive developments for the Pacific region. Congratulations to all involved in the successful inscription of three sites in the region:
- The Kuk Early Agricultural Site, Papua New Guinea, on the basis of criteria (iii) and (iv).
- Chief Roi Mata's Domain, Vanuatu, on the basis of criteria (iii), (v) and (vi).
- The Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems were inscribed under the State Party of France.
The meeting inscribed 27 sites, bringing the total on the World Heritage List to 878 sites. 30 sites remain on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The next session of the Committee will be held 22-30 June 2009, in Seville, Spain. Spain will chair the Committee over the next 12 months, with the new Bureau comprising Vice Presidents from Kenya (for Africa), Tunisia (Arab), US (EU and North America), Barbados (Latin America and Caribbean) and Australia (Asia Pacific). The Rapporteur will be Mr Antonio Ricarte (Brazil).
Call for written submissions on the future of the World Heritage Convention
At its July meeting, the World Heritage Committee agreed to hold a workshop on the future of the World Heritage Convention, likely to be in Paris in early 2009.
The World Heritage Convention is considered one of the most successful international instruments for the conservation of heritage sites, with 185 States Parties members, and is approaching two important milestones: 40 years since it came into force in1972 and the inscription of the 1000th site to the World Heritage List. The very success of the Convention poses a series of challenges and opportunities hardly envisaged when it came into force and the Committee agreed that it is timely to consider how best to respond to these challenges and opportunities.
States Parties are encouraged to make written submissions to assist in the development of the agenda for the workshop by 1 October 2008, reflecting on the future of the Convention and identifying global strategic issues, key challenges, trends and opportunities facing the Convention.
Update on Pacific World Heritage Workshop October 2008
The Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts will co-host a Pacific World Heritage workshop from 13 to 17 October 2008 in Cairns, Australia, with the New Zealand Government Department of Conservation (DOC) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The objectives of this workshop will be to:
- build capacity/skill in the development of management plans and systems for cultural and natural heritage
- share best practice management lessons learnt
- continue the current momentum in preparing World Heritage Tentative Lists and nominations, including review of on-going Tentative Lists
- plan for the extension of the Pacific 2009 Programme to 2015
- discuss the creation of a Pacific World Heritage Fund.
Invitations to the Workshop have been sent, and attendees are encouraged to submit their registration forms by 1 August 2008.
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