6. Management Vision and Objectives

The management vision should be a statement of how the World Heritage property will be in 20 to 30 years, including the maintenance of its OUV and other values, and its role in the community and sustainable development. Management objectives should underpin and enable aspects of the vision during the lifecycle of the plan.

Some properties may choose to present their vision statement for the property at the beginning of the management plan, either ahead of or within the introductory section. The vision should be expanded on later in the plan, as below, but could also be included at the start of the plan to introduce the direction of the plan.

The following considerations – drawing on Articles 4 and 5 of the World Heritage Convention, Paragraph 111 of the Operational Guidelines, and the World Heritage Resource Manuals – should underpin the World Heritage property management vision and objectives:

• Safeguarding of the OUV and other important values of the property should be the central priority for a management system
• Maintenance and operation of the property, including the continuation of any working functions of the property, and any condition surveys for individual assets within the WHS
• Disaster and risk preparedness, including the alignment of the management plan with disaster risk management frameworks locally, regionally and nationally
• Alignment of management with the sustainable development agenda, to harness the potential of World Heritage property to contribute to, and benefit from, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  
  Without compromising the OUV of the property, World Heritage property management policies should be developed in support of a wider context of economic, social and environmental goals, in line with the 2015 UNESCO Policy for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention.

• Engagement with climate action. Climate change has become the fastest-growing threat to World Heritage properties. Climate resilience, within the property and the wider community should be considered in the formulation of the vision and objectives and should also be the focus of some objectives. WHS managers are encouraged to refer to section IIID of the UNESCO Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage for detail of specific climate actions proposed for consideration at WHS level
• Participatory approaches to the protection and management of the World Heritage property. Ensuring that benefits derived from heritage are shared equitably is a strategic objective of the World Heritage Convention. Management objectives should seek to enhance the role of the property in the life of concerned communities
• Education and capacity building. Considerations could include how youth engagement and the building of heritage skills could be integrated into management of the World Heritage property
• Physical, social and intellectual accessibility of the property. This is a particular consideration in relation to presentation of the property (transport infrastructure, visitor facilities and interpretative materials)

6.1 Vision

Managing partners and key stakeholders should agree a long-term vision for the property. It is helpful for this to cover a period encompassing the lifespan of multiple management plans, perhaps 20 or 30 years.

The vision should be the result of collaborative work by management groups and concerned communities. The focus should be on safeguarding the OUV and other values of the property, transmission of value to the wider community and contributions to sustainable development (29).

The vision could be presented as between 4 and 6 bullet points.

6.2 Objectives

This section could include between 3 and 5 medium-term objectives. Effective objectives will be 'SMART': Specific, Measurable, Achievable in the lifecycle of the plan, Realistic and Timely (30).

The objectives should both underpin elements of the vision and address the challenges and opportunities identified in Section 6. 

It may be useful to present the objectives alongside corresponding elements of the vision, values and attributes, and any international, national or local policy (for example, the UN Sustainable Development Goals) to which the objectives relate. The management plan template includes a table which could be used to structure the presentation of this information.

Footnotes

29. UNESCO., ICCROM., ICOMOS., and IUCN (2013). 'Managing Cultural World Heritage', UNESCO, 140. (Accessed 19 February 2025)
30. UNESCO., ICCROM., ICOMOS., and IUCN (2013). 'Managing Cultural World Heritage', UNESCO, 141. (Accessed 19 February 2025)