UNESCO is running a heritage training workshop at the end of this month designed to teach skills in management of coastal and marine world heritage sites in the Asia-Pacific region.

Co-organised by UNESCO and the World Natural Heritage Management and Training Centre for Asia and the Pacific Region (WNH-AP), the training course at the Wildlife Institute of India in Chandrabani, within Sundarbans National Park World Heritage site, will cater to 50 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Operating under WNH-AP’s mandate, the initiative will build the capacity of professionals and bodies involved with world natural heritage sites.

During the three-day workshop, attendees will be educated on existing policy and legal issues, international guidelines and frameworks of management planning concerning coastal and marine World Heritage sites. In addition, they will receive training in disaster preparation and risk reduction strategy, while also being introduced to the concept of ‘climate proofing’.

Workshop attendees will also share experiences and best practices in coastal and marine World Heritage site management in the region, and will work to create a road map towards effective management of those sites.

The international training workshop on Enhancing Capacity for Effective Management of Coastal and Marine World Heritage Sites of the Asia-Pacific Region, takes place between 26-28 February.