Tool 3 - Boundaries, buffer zones and the wider setting

1. To ascertain whether the World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
   When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. includes all the attributes that convey its Outstanding Universal Value within its boundaries, and is of adequate size to protect those attributes.
2. To assess whether the delineation of the property considers important relationships, dynamic functions and processes that are essential to maintaining its values.
3. To identify gaps and challenges associated with different designations and differing boundaries.
4. To examine whether the buffer zone is adequate to give an added layer of protection to the property.
5. To consider if there is a good understanding of the interactions between the property, buffer zone(s) and wider setting, and how management responds to these cross-scale interactions.
6. To identify management challenges resulting from these delimitation aspects.

The location and configuration of a World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. , namely its boundaries and size, can significantly affect managers’ ability to manage it effectively and, in particular, maintain its integrity. This is especially important for serial and transboundary properties. Moreover, the interactions between the property, any existing buffer zone(s) and the wider setting will determine what factors affect (or can potentially affect) the property.

The boundaries of each World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. , as well as of any existing buffer zone(s), are determined at the time of its inscription on the World Heritage List. Any changes to boundaries need to be approved by the World Heritage Committee through established procedures. In some cases, the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone(s) at the time of inscription may have been influenced by social, economic, political and administrative issues, the consequences of which can create long-term management challenges.

This tool helps to identify shortcomings related to the boundaries of the property, as well as the boundaries of any existing buffer zone(s), and to indicate ways in which management might resolve or mitigate related issues. This includes identifying challenges arising from the size and configuration of both the property and the buffer zone(s). Challenges may also arise from cross-scale interactions (that is, the influence that processes and dynamics at one scale or area have on another scale or area) between the property, the buffer and the wider setting.

For properties where processes (e.g. biological and ecological processes, or agricultural practices and industrial processes) are important attributes, the size of the property will be important. This is particularly the case for natural properties where, for instance, the viability or long-term survival of certain species may require multiple and extensive ecosystems. However, size is also important for cultural properties – for example, in the case of a traditional irrigation system whose functioning is dependent on a water catchment area that is larger than the size of the property.

Intricate or complicated boundaries can make it difficult for actors to easily identify them. Conversely, over-simplified boundaries (e.g. straight lines and rectangular borders) that do not relate to geographical boundaries, for example, can also complicate the management of the property and its buffer zone(s). Alignment of boundaries with physical features or cadastral land parcels can be helpful in identifying and protecting the property.

Identifying and (if feasible) mapping attributes can be a useful way of determining whether property boundaries are adequate or not. However, when undertaking such an exercise, be aware of the risk of focusing only on physical attributes and overlooking important social and/or ecological processes and intangible elements. Consider also relationships between attributes (as analysed in Worksheet 1a) and landscape connectivity when examining the adequacy of the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone.

Before you can examine how adequate the boundaries are, you will need a good understanding of what factors are affecting the property and whether those factors originate from within or outside the property (see Tool 2). The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international treaty adopted by the UN in 1972 that defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List for their Outstanding Universal Value for all humankind. Commonly known as the World Heritage Convention, it establishes how the international community as a whole is responsible for
the protection of such heritage and sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites that may be eligible for inscription onto the World Heritage List and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the sites situated on its territory that have been recognized as being of Outstanding Universal Value, but also to protect its national heritage and to be involved in international efforts to protect, conserve and promote the heritage of humankind. 7 establish a specific mechanism to help respond to those factors: the buffer zone. One of the main purposes of the buffer zone is to provide an added layer of protection to the property and help address factors originating outside it. Therefore, Tool 3 helps to assess the adequacy of the boundaries and size of the buffer zone. In some cases, even a large-sized buffer zone will be insufficient to deal with all the factors affecting the property, as some factors can originate from well beyond the outer limits of the buffer zone. This is why the Operational Guidelines also include the notion of the ‘wider setting’, and the need to understand the interactions between this, the property and the buffer zone. Since factors originating outside the property and its buffer zone(s) are often beyond the direct control of managers responsible for the property, you will need to assess what agreements and other mechanisms exist, or should be put in place, to deal with issues arising from the wider setting of the property or other heritage place.

Finally, this tool helps you to establish whether the boundaries are related to existing legal protections at other levels, and if those existing legal protections can facilitate management. In some circumstances, the opposite can occur. For example, a pre-existing designation at the national level that extends beyond the area of the World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. may be subject to rules and regulations that are insufficient for the needs of protecting the property’s Outstanding Universal Value. Similarly, when different designations exist (particularly at the international level) this can lead to different sets of boundaries (both for the property and its buffer zone), sometimes with conflicting purposes. Potential conflicts between different designations need to be carefully considered.

This worksheet offers a set of questions to examine three main aspects:

• the adequacy of the boundaries, size and delimitation of the property itself;
• the adequacy of the buffer zone to act as an added layer of protection to the property and address factors originating outside the property; and
• the extent to which the interactions between the property, the buffer zone and the wider setting influence the management of the property.

While you should complete most of the worksheets for other tools based on information retrieved from existing information sources, completing Worksheet 3 requires professional experience and analytical skills. Therefore, this worksheet is structured as a questionnaire. It is critical to always consider the questions included in the worksheet in relation to the values of the property (Worksheet 1a). When you insert responses into Worksheet 3, make sure that they reflect the result of discussions among all those participating in the assessment and that they reflect, as far as possible, a consensus among participants. Where divergent viewpoints exist, you should make this clear in your responses.

Since this worksheet is structured as a questionnaire, no reflection questions are provided. Instead, you are encouraged to draw conclusions and identify follow-up actions based on the comments and recommendations identified in the final column.

This worksheet may require some adaptation depending on the type and characteristics of your World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. or other heritage place. For instance, you may be working with a World Heritage property A cultural, natural or mixed heritage place inscribed on the World Heritage List and therefore considered to be of OUV for humanity. The responsibility for nominating a property to the World Heritage List falls upon the State(s) Party(ies) where it is located. The World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, taking into account the technical recommendations of the Advisory Bodies following rigorous evaluation processes.
When used as a general term, World Heritage refers to all the natural, cultural and mixed properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. that does not have a buffer zone, in which case you will not be able to respond to some of the questions in the worksheet. For serial World Heritage properties, you may need to repeat the worksheet for each component and then for the property as a whole. For heritage places that are not inscribed on the World Heritage List, you will need to adapt the questions in relation to other designations (e.g. at international, national, provincial or local levels). All this work requires careful reflection on how best to approach and adapt the worksheet to suit your needs.