World Heritage Status: Is There Opportunity for Economic Gain?

The Lake District, England's largest national park, commissioned a study to determine the economic impact of World Heritage status, as part of their effort to secure World Heritage designation for the park. Given a previous cost/benefit analysis developed in the United Kingdom by Price Watershouse Coopers consultants which highlighted the high cost of preparing a nomination dossier. The Lake District study is a further attempt to examine the benefits of World Heritage inscription. The study finds, among several interesting conclusions, that "attributing socio-economic impacts to the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation is complex and difficult. It is rarely the designation itself which achieves the impacts, and more normally the actions and investments of the local stakeholders." To see the complete study, click here.

Manitoba puts $10 Million into Trust Fund for UNESCO

With four days remaining in his decade-long reign, outgoing Manitoba Premier Gary Doer made a significant contribution toward his legacy yesterday, pledging $10-million to help preserve a swath of boreal forest as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Click here for the news report.

Taos Pueblo Included on World Monuments Fund 2010 Watch List of Endangered Sites

Bonnie Burnham, President of the World Monuments Fund (WMF), today announced the 2010 World Monuments Watch. For more than 40 years, WMF, a nonprofit organization, has worked to preserve cultural heritage across the globe. The 2010 Watch includes 93 sites now at risk, representing 47 countries. These include 9 sites from the United States and 15 dating from the 20th century. The Watch is WMF’s flagship advocacy program, and it calls international attention to threatened cultural heritage. One of the sites on the new Watch List is Taos Pueblo.Surrounded by growing region, Taos Pueblo, the only US World Heritage Site, designated for the significance of its living culture faces a variety of threats.
For more information on Taos, see: http://www.wmf.org/project/taos-pueblo