Joint Side Event at WHC Session focussed on Strategic Environmental Assessments
Together with World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS, IUCN, ICCROM, and the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation organized a side event to the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) held in Busan, Republic of Korea. The event explored the role of SEA in the World Heritage context and showcase practical experiences from States Parties in applying SEA to support the protection and management of World Heritage properties.
The event’s panel discussion provided an opportunity to hear perspectives and lessons learned from different regions, fostering peer exchange and dialogue on the opportunities and challenges of applying SEA in diverse contexts. One of the panellists was Soledad Luna, the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat’s Programme Officer for World Heritage: “It was a great opportunity to showcase the progress we at the Wadden Sea have made in the past years – and also the challenges we are presented by, not the least due to our transboundary character. I also felt very inspired by other sites sharing their experiences. It always carries great value to look beyond one’s own borders.”
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is an important tool for helping States Parties anticipate and manage change affecting World Heritage properties. By informing policies, plans and programmes, SEA complements project-level impact assessments and supports informed decision-making that safeguards Outstanding Universal Value while contributing to sustainable development.
In Busan, Luna will closely follow the WHC session’s agenda point “State of conservation of properties inscribed on the of World Heritage List”, which includes the Wadden Sea. A decision is to be expected by Friday.
Upon invitation by the Republic of Korea, Luna further plans to participate in a panel discussion held in celebration of the WHC’s expected decision of extending the Korean Tidal Flats World Heritage Site, a close partner of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation.