Insight from the first Periodic Reporting for Africa ( ) by Lazare Eloundou Assomo UNESCO World Heritage, Africa Section World Heritage Periodic Reporting Reflection Year Berlin, Germany, November 2005

The report for Periodic Reporting in the Africa Region was presented to the World Heritage Committee at its 26th Session The Periodic Report was the result of an exercise undertaken in 18 African countries from 1999 to The exercise concerned 40 properties (23 natural, 16 cultural and 1 mixed) inscribed prior to 1993 Introduction

Periodic Reporting should not be limited only to countries with properties or those with properties inscribed on the List, or only those inscribed prior to 1994; Policy and legislative measures for heritage conservation should be given more attention High central government-driven initiatives concerning properties did not take into consideration involvement of the local communities or NGOs; Lessons learnt at the time of reporting for Africa:

There was: Inadequate professional personnel, skills and equipment for conserving and managing World Heritage properties; Lack of scientific information to enhance and update the management knowledge and methods; Lack of financial resources to manage properties and techniques for mobilizing international support; Lack of education and public awareness concerning World Heritage values;

Values for inscribing properties were poorly understood and where they existed were poorly defined, particularly for those sites inscribed in the 1970s and 1980s; There were no appropriate mechanisms for addressing natural and human threats to World Heritage properties; Frameworks for bi- and multilateral cooperation for designing trans-border properties did not exist; and Countries that ratified the Convention since the early days appeared not to nominate properties for inscription.

Mainstreaming World Heritage protection within the public and private sectors of the countries and the regions; Convincing private sectors to incorporate heritage protection in their activities; Providing long-term conservation financing programmes for African properties, such as by establishing an African World Heritage Fund; Promoting urban planning for the sake of both urban and rural heritage; Challenges emphasized

Promoting transparency and governance in heritage resource management; Promoting more proactive use of environmental assessment tools for decision-making processes; and, Effective management through training, regional and sub-regional accountability, cooperation, coordination and agreements.

Adopt general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community and integrate the protection of that heritage into comprehensive planning programmes; Where non-existent, set up one more more services within its territory for the protection,conservation and preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, with appropriate staff with the power to execute such functions; Develop scientific and technical studies and research and work out operational methods to enable the State to counteract the dangers that threaten its cultural and natural heritage; Follow-up of Periodic Reporting is based on the following five-point Action Plan adopted by the Committee:

Take appropriate legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to identify, protect, conserve, present and rehabilitate this heritage; Encourage the establishment or development of national or regional centres for training in the protection, conservation and presentation of the cultural and natural heritage and encourage scientific research in this field.

Establishing and strengthening cooperation and networks for better sharing of resources; Training for more skilled and efficient manpower for the protection and conservation of World Heritage properties; Promoting wider participation to ensure long and sustained conservation of World Heritage in Africa; Enhancing management to address deficiencies at the national and property levels; Promoting scientific research and reporting to enhance knowledge on properties; and Updating methods for property protection and information sharing. The Action Plan addresses the following challenges:

As of 2002: 37 of 46 States Parties had ratified the Convention 57 properties inscribed in the list - As of 2005: 40 of 46 States Parties have ratified or accepted the Convention 65 properties have been inscribed State of the implementation of the Convention and the conservation of inscribed properties This in its own way is proof of the growing political will of the majority of African countries to conserve and protect properties of heritage universal value under the Convention. The remaining Member States of UNESCO are to ratify the Convention: Guinea Bissau, Guinea Equatorial, Sao Tome et Principe, Djibouti, Somalia, and Swaziland.

Analysis of the Periodic Reporting Exercise helped to identify the training needs for World Heritage. It confirmed: the need to continue implementing the Global Strategy, the relevance of the Africa 2009 Programme the need to have a similar programme for natural heritage. Existing opportunities for implementing the Convention

It is clearly recognised that economic development and the eradication of poverty are the "first and most important priorities" for developing Africa. How, therefore, can countries be persuaded to put forward their wild lands and landscapes for outstanding universal value for conservation and protection for humanity and for future generations, as promoted by the Convention, while the current generation can hardly survive? External circumstances in which the Africa Periodic Report is operating

No analysis of the social and environmental conditions of Africa can overlook the fact that the continent has been in the throes of a profound and relentless crisis for the past two decades. Most countries have had to lock themselves into programmes of economic stabilisation or structural adjustment. In this context, governments must concentrate their efforts on daily, short-term well- being. Planning for the future is often considered impossible. African governments re-assert their legitimate right to use their natural resources for development and are wary of over-zealous environmental protection measures that could impede African economic development. The perception of environmental problems

As of today, the principles of community participation and partnerships in managing heritage resources have yet to be assimilated by countries Few countries in Africa are taking measures to grant more decision-making power to local communities and bring them closer to the administration. Heritage properties in this regard are considered as an obstacle by the local communities, rather than an asset. Heritage and the local community

The Tentative List exercise confirmed that African countries need a better knowledge of their heritage resources and their degree of degradation. This need for more precise knowledge, identified while implementing the Action Plan, is equally apparent with regard to formulating effective strategies for the conservation and protection of their heritage. Inventorying properties of outstanding universal value

The World Heritage Convention’s Fund cannot 'in itself' respond to all the financial questions that arise in Africa. What is lacking in the Convention is an in-built mechanism whereby the developed countries be requiredto assist African countries, and a system within UNESCO for mobilizing resources for the World Heritage Fund apart from voluntary contributions Due to the slow response for requests from African countries to access the WH Fund due to lack of capacities and other inabilities to swiftly respond to criteria for eligibility, funds, especially for Cultural Heritage protection, are often exhausted by the time these requests are effectively and efficiently made. Funding through the World Heritage Fund

some activities have already been carried out in various African countries since the launching of the Periodic Report. This has been possible thanks to the support of bi-lateral and multi-lateral co-operation institutions through specific projects Despite this, the absence of an adequate financial mechanism for sustainability on the long–term poses a great obstacle to the effective implementation of the Convention and the conservation and protection of sites in Africa Funding other than through the World Heritage Fund

The creation of the fund was unanimously adopted by the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee; the 7th General Conference of States Parties and the 33rd session of the General Conference The Fund is expected to be the principal funding source for actions aimed at the conservation and protection of the African heritage with sustainable development as a priority. The success of the Fund will be among the major outcomes of the Periodic Reporting exercise. African World Heritage Fund (AWHF)

Africa has only two transboundary properties, despite its potential for transboundary (TSB) cooperation in cultural and natural protection and conservation. Lack of arrangements to ensure heritage management, evaluation and follow-up of the application of institutional frameworks for TSB-co- ordination and consultation mechanisms. Establishing such institutional frameworks can assist Africa to internationalize decisions within the Convention framework itself, aiming to achieve better coordination of regional and national participation in debates and negotiations on World Heritage, as well as to reconcile concerns for heritage conservation with development objectives. Cooperation for Transboundary inscriptions

African Research and Training institutions have yet to take a full interest in heritage conservation and development. The Periodic Reporting exercise has contributed to the identification of a few African Training and Research institutions. Universities have started to become involved in World Heritage related issues (EPA, CHDA, Mweka College, University of Cape Town, University of Zimbabwe, University of Makarere). Research and Training for Heritage issues

The implementation of the Action Plan of the Africa Periodic Report has benefited from the three major programme supports, namely: the Global Strategy, Africa Nature Programme and Africa There is a strong correlation between the developmental needs of the continent and the implementation of the Convention and conservation and protection of sites. Greater coordination of the Convention is required in countries in order to be able to assess the state of its implementation and to be able to address overlapping issues such as cultural landscapes and mixed sites. Conclusion

The Periodic Report has yet to be well adapted to its broker activities as regards the operational framework; The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), currently under preparation, is a clear case where Africa is taking heritage issues into its own hands and should be encouraged