International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC)

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1 International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) UNEP-UNESCO Joint Initiative Cultural and Natural resources management of the Iraqi Marshlands utilizing the World Heritage Nomination process as a tool Ryuichi FUKUHARA Project Officer, UNEP-DTIE-IETC CBD-COP10 Side Event: Long-term sustainable development of the Iraqi Marshlands and Natural Reserves 21 Oct 2010, Nagoya, Japan

2 Project Background Iraqi Marshlands (Marshlands of Mesopotamia) listed on the Tentative List for the World Heritage sites by Iraqi Ministry of Culture along with 7 cultural sites in 2003 Listing as only site with mixed natural and cultural heritage Only 25 mixed sites worldwide (1 in Arab states) among 878 properties on the World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2010) Heightened interest and urgency to establish and improve management practices of locations with mixed heritage sites 2

3 Project Background (cont d) Management of Iraqi Marshlands by UNEP commenced in 2004 Focusing on basic service provision (water, sanitation) and ecosystem restoration with community involvement Natural Science and cultural initiatives in Iraq by UNESCO commenced in 2004 Focusing on cultural heritage management, cultural diversity and water resource management as well as Education for Sustainable Development Recognition of project priority by Iraqi Ministry of Environment Natural heritage management under MoEnv mandate No other natural or mixed WH candidate site in Iraq 3

4 Two agencies are complimentary in. UNESCO brings its expertise in protecting and promoting cultural diversity and environmental education, coordination mechanism for world heritage process with Iraqi institutions, as well as the expertise in implementation of the World Heritage Convention. UNEP brings its expertise in environmental management and ecosystem restoration, promotion of environmentally sound means of basic service provision, community engagement, as well as its experience of implementing field-based initiatives in the Iraqi Marshlands area 4

5 Development goal of the project To ensure sustainable development of the Iraqi Marshlands, reflecting the Outstanding Universal Values of its historical, cultural, environmental, hydrological, and socio-economic characteristics of the area, in particular utilizing the World Heritage (WH) inscription process as a tool to develop and implement a management framework 5

6 Objectives of the project To establish a long-term preservation and management plan of the cultural and biological diversity of the area referring to the WH nomination process To implement sustainable socio-economic development practices that reflect the natural and cultural conditions of the Iraqi Marshlands, as described in the plan To build capacity and to raise awareness among the local population as well as national, governorate, and local institutions to encourage their participation for the site preservation, and management framework operations To raise recognition of the importance of the Iraqi Marshlands within the international community to support equitable use and sustainable development of the area 6

7 Project components Activity component 1: preservation and management plan development towards World Heritage inscription Activity component 2: preservation and management plan implementation Activity component 3: capacity building and awareness raising Activity component 4: international cooperation Budget: 3.11M USD (3 years) funded by Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea 7

8 Milestones of 3-year project Year 1 (Mar 2009 June 2010) Induction of the concept of WH, basic data collection, identifying gaps and potential partners, and promoting common understanding on the Outstanding Universal values of the Iraqi Marshlands Year 2 (July 2010 June 2011) Further researches and data analysis, implementing actions to fill gaps identified in Year 1, institutional arrangement and development for management plan and establishing a core team for drafting the nomination file. Year 3 (July 2011 June 2012) Management plan in place, strengthening institutional arrangement, drafting and finalizing the nomination file with supporting institutional arrangements 8

9 Project results (Year 1) to date Capacity building Kick-off meeting and the induction training for the World Heritage Convention (July 2009) The second training on drafting the World Heritage Nomination file (July 2010) 13

10 Project results (Year 1) to date Study visit to the Danube Delta (World Heritage site) in Romania (June 2010) Town meetings in three governorates in Iraq for community-led initiative for natural and cultural resources protection (Aug 2010). 14

11 Project results (Year 1) to date Why to Danube Delta? World Heritage/Ramsar site First step for comparative studies Similar ecosystem Transboundary water source Size of the site (5000 sqkm) Development of institutional arrangement over the past 20 years 15

12 Project results (Year 1) to date Baseline reports for preparation of management plan and WH nomination Biodiversity and Ecosystem managemnet of the Iraqi Marshlands Screening study on potential World Heritage Nomination (UNEP-IUCN) Preliminary report for community-led initiative on natural and cultural resources management (UNEP-WATEO) Cultural mapping of the Iraqi Marshlands areas (UNESCO-Iraq Iraqi SBAH) Bibliographical collection of the cultural and anthropological documents of the Iraqi Marshlands (UNESCO) 16

13 Preliminary report for community-led initiative on natural and cultural resources management (UNEP-WATEO) A total of 120 participants included a wide range of stakeholders ordinary marshlands inhabitants, tribal and leaders, civil servants or self employed such as traders, farmers, fishermen, craftsmen. More than 85% were positive in World heritage nomination and its positive impacts on protection and development of the Iraqi marshlands Participation in community-led practices on protection of natural and cultural resources 17

14 Bibliographical survey on the cultural heritages of the Iraqi Marshlands (UNESCO) Listing up nearly 1000 articles related to Marshes and Southern Iraq from prehistory up to now. The cultural heritages of Iraqi Marshlands is well documented and has rich bibliography that is an asset for the preparation of the scientific and technical content of the nomination file. 18

15 Bibliographical survey on the cultural heritages of the Iraqi Marshlands (UNESCO) Ethno-archeological studies have identified that similarities and technical continuities between excavated Sumerian materials and those being produced and used by the Marsh Arabs; boat, pottery, reed weaving. The culture of Marsh Arabs is a living testimony of one of the first great civilization in the history of humanity: the Sumerian civilization 19

16 Year 2 and beyond Specify more what are the Outstanding Universal Values of the Iraqi Marshlands Affecting factors on the site such as upstream water management issues, oil development issues Contingency planning for drought and climate changes taking other WH sites as examples Evaluate the ecological and hydrological functions of the Marshes in the regional/local ecosystem Establish the community center as a focal point for cultural/environmental education, community-led initiative for natural and cultural resources conservation 20

17 International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) Thank you very much for your kind attention Shiga Office 1091 Oroshimo-cho, Kusatsu City, Shiga , Japan Tel: Fax: Osaka Office Ryokuchi Koen, Tsurumi-ku, Osaka , Japan Tel: Fax: Web: