Tool 8 - Management processes

1. To review whether the rules and procedures guiding management processes are clear, and whether they are being followed.
2. To identify how existing management processes can be improved, and whether additional management processes are required.

Management is about processes, or what is done in pursuit of defined objectives. How people go about doing things (i.e., the quality of those processes) can sometimes matter more than the results of the processes themselves. For example, are processes clear, informed and participatory, or are they unclear and decided by a few people on an ad hoc basis? At what point do management processes become widely accepted and implemented based on agreed rules and procedures?

The number, complexity and type of management processes can vary significantly between World Heritage properties. These processes can also overlap and be implemented at multiple levels, making them interconnected and hard to distinguish. Tool 8 helps you to explore the most critical processes for effectively managing 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. or other heritage place.

Management processes can be formal – based on policies, laws and regulations – or informal – based on traditions, cultural practices, social relationships and trust. In all cases, processes should be based on a range of accepted (written and unwritten) rules and procedures, so that everyone involved is aware of what each process involves, how it is implemented and what it is expected to deliver. Therefore, this tool assesses the efficiency and appropriateness of formal and informal management processes, where ‘efficiency’ is concerned with the ability to get things done in an agreed way, and ‘appropriateness’ is concerned with suitability with regard to the particular context 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. or other heritage place.

Completing Tool 8 will help you to answer two basic questions:

• Are key management processes in place and are they based on clear and agreed rules, appropriate policies and procedures, and on good conservation practices?
• What aspects of existing management processes require review, and can they be improved to better manage the property?

The tool is structured around two worksheets:

• Worksheet 8a is a multiple-choice questionnaire, with each required response based on a rating system. This worksheet focuses on three main processes: decision-making, planning and community engagement. Your responses will enable you to assess whether good practices are being followed and implemented.
• Worksheet 8b is also structured as a questionnaire but each question requires a simple response. The processes included in this worksheet are as important as those in Worksheet 8a but are analysed in less detail because there are other methodologies that can help you further analyse these questions (Box 5.6).

The processes included in these worksheets are not exhaustive. Therefore, you can adapt the worksheets by adding additional questions and/or listing other processes that you consider important in relation to the management system you are working with. The majority of the processes listed in the worksheets are relevant to most World Heritage properties and other heritage places. However, if you feel that some questions are not relevant, they can be excluded from the worksheet, provided that you justify why.

The questions included in both Worksheets 8a and 8b are designed to give you an overview of the adequacy of the management processes. Where greater detail may be required for any one management process, you can use other existing resource materials (see Box 5.6).

As mentioned above, the way in which decisions are made can be as important as who makes them. For example, are decisions made using transparent, inclusive processes, respectful of rights and according to agreed rules and procedures? Are rights-holders significantly affected by a decision given the opportunity to have their say about it? Decision-making processes are central to effective and equitable governance and management, as are management planning processes. Planning involves deciding on desired management outcomes, determining what actions and activities need to be undertaken in order to achieve those outcomes, defining time-frames, and allocating adequate resources.

Often, planning is reduced to the production of a management plan. However, planning is a process, so the adequateness of that process needs to be examined. While a management plan can be the main output of a planning process, it is equally important to consider how the plan was developed. The actual implementation of the plan often depends on the planning process behind it. In some situations, people may feel less committed to implement a plan that they did not contribute to developing. Implementation issues are dealt with in more detail in Tool 9.

Active and meaningful engagement of local communities and Indigenous peoples in the management of World Heritage All inherited assets which people value for reasons beyond mere utility. Heritage is a broad concept and includes shared legacies from the natural environment, the creations of humans and the creations and interactions between humans and nature. It encompasses built, terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, landscapes and seascapes, biodiversity, geodiversity, collections, cultural practices, knowledge, living experiences, etc.   properties and other heritage places depends on the processes in place that allow them to exercise their rights, contribute to decisions and benefit from conservation efforts. Participatory processes, in which communities share decision-making power and responsibility, while often complex, can reduce conflict and improve conservation outcomes.

Since Worksheet 8a offers a multiple-choice questionnaire and applies a rating system, it can be tempting to go through these questions quickly and without adequate reflection. Therefore, it is fundamental that you justify the reasons for each choice and that you complete the last two columns in detail. When examining the different processes, make sure that you establish the necessary links with previous tools – and in particular Tool 4 (‘Governance arrangements’) and Tool 6 (‘Management planning framework’).

As mentioned previously, the types, complexity and extent of management processes can vary widely from one 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. to another. Worksheet 8b complements Worksheet 8a but is more generic because it addresses other management processes that can be explored in more detail by other existing tools, such as the Guidance and Toolkit on Impact The effects or consequences of a factor on the attributes of the heritage place, both in terms of the attributes’ state of conservation and their ability to convey the heritage/ conservation values. An impact is the difference between a future environmental condition with the implementation of a development project, and the future condition without it. Note that for there to be an impact, there must a source of impact (e.g. noise from an industrial site), a receptor or attribute 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. that is affected (e.g. residents living nearby) and a pathway or route by which the harmful action or material is able to reach the receptor (e.g. the air). Impacts can be positive or negative, as well as direct or indirect, current or potential and originating within the heritage place, any existing buffer zone(s) and even beyond it.

See also: Direct impact, Indirect impacts Indirect impacts are impacts on the environment which are not a direct result of the project, often produced away from or as a result of a complex pathway. Sometimes referred to as ‘second’ or ‘third-level’ impacts, or ‘secondary’ impacts.

See also: Impact, Direct impacts, Cumulative impacts , Cumulative impacts Assessments (2022) or the Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage (2010) (Box 5.6).

Worksheet 8b also addresses what can be called ‘organizational processes linked to administrative functions’, which enable managers to fulfil their responsibilities. Other processes, such as visitor management, communication, education and interpretation, and research, are also covered in Worksheet 8b, since conservation is also about ensuring that heritage plays a role in the lives of local communities and in enriching the experiences of visitors.

Tourism and visitor management can be a challenging element for many World Heritage properties, which requires specific and detailed processes, strategies and tools. For this reason, a dedicated programme has been developed under the direction of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is a technical administrative body within UNESCO, established in 1992 and appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO. It acts as the Secretariat 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. , is the focal point and coordinator within UNESCO for all matters related to World Heritage, and ensures the day-to-day management of the Convention. , and which provides detailed resources. Box 5.6 provides information on these resources, as well as other tools, methodologies and publications that can help you to explore the topics covered in Worksheet 8b in more detail.