Presentation: Future Research Needs - IUCN

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World Heritage and Climate Change -Future
Research Needs
Bastian BomhardWorld Heritage OfficerProtected
Areas Programme Bastian.Bomhard_at_iucn.org
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Natural Heritage Future research needs

• List (see pages 23-26 in draft) compiled based on
  input from IUCN / WCPA experts from around the
  world
• Research needs divided in 6 categories
• Impacts on OUV in general
• Impacts on criterion vii beauty
• Impacts on criterion viii geodiversity
• Impacts on criteria ix and x biodiversity
• Impacts on integrity
• Other WH research needs

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Natural Heritage Impacts on OUV in general

• What are the most / least vulnerable WH values,
  sites, Tentative List sites, types of sites and
  regions?
• Collect baseline data on OUV (e.g. Statements of
  OUV), specific WH values and sites as well as
  their climate sensitivity to provide a greater
  indication of those most / more vulnerable to
  climate change.
• Identify suitable indicators and developing
  monitoring systems adequate for the detection of
  climatic changes and their impacts to predict how
  these impacts will threaten WH values and sites
  over time and space. Need to consider feedbacks
  with other threats.
• Identify critical thresholds How much climate
  change is too much for specific WH values and
  sites?

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Natural Heritage Impacts on OUV in general

• Understand the impacts on the hydrology of
  natural WH sites, as any changes in water quality
  and quantity would affect the values of the sites
  and their functioning.
• Understand the implications of changing water
  chemistry and temperatures for marine (e.g.
  coral), coastal and freshwater WH sites.
• Improve projection (i.e. reduce uncertainty) of
  rainfall changes (direction, magnitude and rate
  of change) and their impacts on natural WH sites.
  

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Natural Heritage Impacts on criterion vii

• Assess climate change impacts on aesthetic and
  scenic WH values (e.g. waterfalls and wetlands),
  for example from changes in extreme weather
  events, fire and water regimes, vegetation and
  other landscape level dynamics.
• Assess climate change impacts on superlative
  natural phenomena such as wildlife migrations for
  example from (seasonal) changes in climate
  parameters, fire and water regimes, food
  availability and nutrient cycles (cf. CMS).
• Identify criterion vii values, sites and types of
  sites most at risk as well as appropriate
  management responses to avoid or alleviate
  impacts.

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Natural Heritage Impacts on criterion viii

• Assess impacts of climate change on fossil,
  geological and geomorphologic WH values, for
  example from sea level rise and changes in
  extreme weather events, fire and water regimes
  (e.g. important for caves), weathering and
  erosion (e.g. important for fossils).
• Identify criterion viii values, sites and types
  of sites most at risk as well as appropriate
  management responses to avoid or alleviate
  impacts.

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Natural Heritage Impacts on criteria ix and x

• Assess impacts of climate change on biodiversity
  values, including habitats, species, ecological
  and biological processes, for example from sea
  level rise and changes in climate parameters,
  extreme weather events, fire and water regimes,
  food availability and nutrient cycles.
• Assess the impacts on species and community
  dynamics in natural WH sites, and the impacts of
  species range shifts and losses on ecosystem
  functions.
• Assess feedbacks with other pressures (pollution,
  invasive alien species, habitat destruction and
  degradation, desertification, development etc.).

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Natural Heritage Impacts on criteria ix and x

• Understand the climatic thresholds of species and
  communities that form the basis of key values of
  natural WH sites. This is critical for our
  capacity to plan for management responses. Need
  to not only consider emblematic species but also
  those that support them.
• Identify criteria ix and x values, sites and
  types of sites most at risk as well as
  appropriate management responses to avoid or
  alleviate impacts.
• Identify climate refugia inside and outside
  natural WH sites for biodiversity WH values (e.g.
  key species, habitats, evolutionary processes
  etc.).

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Natural Heritage Impacts on integrity

• Integrity includes aspects such as size, shape,
  boundaries, buffer zones, management, threats,
  etc. of WH sites
• How to reduce the vulnerability of WH sites?
  Identify appropriate management responses for
  States Parties and site managers.
• Build resistance and resilience into the design
  and management of natural WH sites and their
  buffer zones (e.g. through conserving climate
  refugia, restoring ecosystem functions or
  reducing other threats).
• Develop and implement landscape level approaches
  to improve landscape connectivity of natural WH
  sites.

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Natural Heritage Impacts on integrity

• Determine the adaptive capacity and capacity
  building needs of States Parties and site
  managers.
• Develop and implement adaptive approaches to the
  management of species and habitats, fire and
  water regimes, visitors, etc. in WH sites.
• What will the direct and indirect impacts be from
  climate change effects on local communities,
  their livelihoods and land use practices in the
  areas around natural WH sites?
• Identify appropriate approaches supporting the
  adaptation of local communities in order to
  reduce human pressure on the natural resources of
  WH sites.

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Natural Heritage Other WH research needs

• Explore options how the activities under the WH
  Convention can become "carbon neutral" by
  reducing and/or offsetting the carbon emissions
  of these activities.
• How do natural WH sites contribute to greenhouse
  gas emissions, capture and storage? Research
  source and sink dynamics of natural WH sites.
• Explore potential for recognizing carbon values
  of natural WH sites to increase leverage for
  conservation and explore how these can contribute
  to sustainable financing.
• Research how to best educate the public on the
  implications of climate change for WH sites.

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Research needs Discussion points

• A lot of research out there already
• How to apply this to WH context (e.g. scale
  issues)?
• Still a long list of specific WH research needs
• What are the key priorities for WH in
  general,specific WH values, sites and regions?
• How to ensure that these gaps are filled
  through cooperation with the scientific / funding
  community?
• How to ensure the communication of relevant
  research results and lessons learned to the WH
  community?

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