Wadden Sea Board. WSB June 2016 Tönning

Transcription

1 Agenda Item: 5.1 Wadden Sea Board WSB June 2016 Tönning Subject: Application World Heritage Brand Document No. WSB 17/5.1/4 Date: 14 June 2016 Submitted by: Chairman WSB A joint meeting of the Task Group World Heritage (TG-WH) and Task Group Sustainable Tourism Strategy (TG-STS) was held on 3 June 2016 to discuss the application and use of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Brand. The outcome of the meeting is attached for discussion by WSB-17. Proposal: The meeting is invited to discuss the document and to establish a working group in order to prepare a detailed proposal of a Wadden Sea World Heritage partnership or cooperation programme for business partners by the next WSB.

2 WSB 17/5.1/4 Application World Heritage Brand 2 Report from the meeting of the TASK GROUPS World Heritage Sustainable Tourism Strategy TG-WH / TG-STS St. Peter-Ording 3 June Background WSB 16 agreed that a fundamental discussion was needed about the use and application of the World Heritage Brand and logo and that, as already agreed at WSB-15, a joint meeting of TG-WH and TG-STS was required to prepare this discussion, in particular by clearly identifying the main differences in position between the Parties. 2. Overview of the challenges related to the use of the WH Brand Since the inscription of the Wadden Sea on the World Heritage List, communication has been one of the main priorities for enhancing the awareness of World Heritage and engaging further partners in the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value of the Wadden Sea (joint Communication and Marketing Programme , PROWAD project and development of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy , and the World Heritage Strategy on working with partners). The preparation of a World Heritage Partnership Centre and Foundation is currently being discussed by the Wadden Sea Board. The meeting identified a number of challenges related to the use of the brand across the entire World Heritage property: - Not all stakeholders are aware of the Wadden Sea World Heritage as one property, resulting in inconsistent communication and lacking visibility of the property (see also STS Objective 1); - World Heritage is often used just as a label, without connection to the content of the brand (protection of OUV) as defined in the WH Brand Paper; - Credibility and quality of the brand must be guaranteed, in order to ensure that the brand has value, particularly in a marketing and commercial context; - The application process for the use of the logo is sometimes considered to be too complex and too bureaucratic for many actors resulting in a low visibility of the logo in some regions; - Many stakeholders do not know that they can use the logo in an editorial context and fail to use the logo; - The approach with regard to World Heritage communication and cooperation with stakeholders varies across the three countries. - Some regions have already developed a well-established partner programme (including a comprehensive set of criteria), while others are still developing ways to cooperate with partners. - A consistent framework of a World Heritage Partner Programme is still missing.

3 WSB 17/5.1/4 Application World Heritage Brand 3 - A framework for the commercial use of the brand has not yet been developed. This has to be addressed in future. 3. Analysis and conclusions The meeting underlined that all communication of WH, as well as cooperation with business partners, should follow the same goal: to enhance awareness of the Wadden Sea as a fragile environment which has to be protected to maintain its OUV. A basic brand management framework for this world-class brand (including clear guidance on content and performance) is a precondition for all communication and partnership schemes. The meeting regarded the current Guidelines for the use of the WH logo as sufficient for dealing with the brand in non-commercial communication. The regional focal points for logo use have developed an application procedure to make the access to the logo for non-commercial World Heritage information easier and simpler. The meeting also discussed the aims and contents of a World Heritage Partner Programme and the ways in which this could be implemented. In principle, the meeting supported the idea of developing a World Heritage programme for cooperation with business (and other) partners across the three countries. However, due to the regional differences, it was recommended to jointly define minimum standards for a programme which can then be implemented within the regional/national framework including criteria to guarantee OUV-related content of communication and consistency of the conduct of partners with the principle of sustainability. Within PROWAD, a feasibility study on a World Heritage Cooperation Programme for Business Partners was published in June This document can be downloaded at: The meeting compiled ideas for a WH partner programme, or levels of partner programmes, together with a list of possible criteria or qualifiers for partners of a transnational WH programme. The meeting did not conclude the list and proposals were not interlinked or prioritized: - The WH Convention has an inclusive approach. The programme should therefore aim to engage as many partners as possible; - Minimum criteria should ensure the credibility of the transboundary WH programme and should be suitable for fulfilling the quality promise of WH; - The minimum criteria should be developed jointly and should not undermine existing partner programmes, such as the National Park partner programmes in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony (with over 200 partners); however, this does not imply that NP partnership will automatically become the minimum standard for NL and DK; - Stakeholders should be well aware of the brand before joining the partnership programme, and should be committed to OUV and its protection; - No harm principle: stakeholders will, after being informed about the principles of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation, the Wadden Sea Plan, and national management schemes and laws, need to support this;

4 WSB 17/5.1/4 Application World Heritage Brand 4 - A cooperation programme with the tourism sector can be developed on the basis of the commitment already expressed in the Strategy on Sustainable Tourism (2014). Stakeholders from all sectors should be invited to join in the medium term. This will require further discussion (e.g. on no-go s) and the development of sector-specific criteria; - A regular check of standards is necessary, every 3 5 years (evolving standards); - Partners need to follow a higher standard than the average in their sector; - The WH partner programme could cover the following activities: o Provide training and information to partners, to enable them to actively communicate the message of World Heritage to visitors; o Define standards for each of the four themes: commitment, sustainability, quality and communication; o Use existing sustainability criteria and eco-labels (see nature-friendly class trips); o Take care of financial aspects. The meeting also discussed the option of a basic-level World Heritage partnership to enable stakeholders to engage with the brand e.g. through a simple statement (e.g. WH supporter or WH friend ), and to progress towards full partnership only as a second or third step. This may have advantages, as more partners could be involved. On the other hand, working with several categories would also increase the complexity and the effort, as different sets of criteria will have to be developed and communicated. The work on the World Heritage partnership programme has to be attuned to the preparation of the planned PROWAD Link project and the development of the Partnership Centre, as well as the implementation of the World Heritage Strategy and Roadmap. Taking into account this complex situation, the meeting concluded to establish a small working group to prepare a more detailed discussion paper for WSB 18. The working group should consist of Co Verdaas (chair), Peter Saabye Simonsen, Bernard Baerends, Barbara Engels, Christiane Gätje, Anja Szczesinski, Arndt Meyer- Vosgerau and Harald Marencic (secretary). PROPOSAL The WSB should establish a working group in order to prepare a detailed proposal of a Wadden Sea World Heritage partnership or cooperation programme for business partners by the next WSB.

5 WSB 17/5.1/4 Application World Heritage Brand 5 Annex 1 List of Participants Chairman: - Co Verdaas, Chairman WSB TG-WH: - Anne Husum Marboe, Chairperson TG-WH - Bernard Baerends, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Netherlands - Barbara Engels, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany - Maren Bauer, Environmental Ministry MELUR, Schleswig-Holstein - Klaus Koßmagk-Stephan, LKN National Park S-H Wattenmeer - Margrita Sobottka, National Park Nds Wattenmeer - Janne Lieven, National Park HH Wattenmeer TG-STS: - Oeds Bijlsma, Chairman TG-STS - Peter Saabye Simonsen, Secretary National Park Danish Wadden Sea, - Christiane Gätje, LKN National Park S-H Wattenmeer, - Arndt Meyer-Vosgerau, National Park Nds Wattenmeer, - Constanze Höfinghoff, St. Peter-Ording Tourism, - Frank Ketter, Nordsee-Tourisms Service GmbH, - Anja Szczesinski, WWF - Monique Pruyt, Province Fryslân - Sjon de Haan, Aanjager Waddenzee, Netherlands - Michel Aaldering, Marketing Groningen WSB: - Vera Knoke, Environmental Ministry MELUR, Schleswig-Holstein - Hans-Ulrich Rösner, WWF. Secretary: - Harald Marencic, - Anja Domnick, - Simon Lobach

6 WSB 17/5.1/4 Application World Heritage Brand 6 Annex 2 Agenda AGENDA TASK GROUPS World Heritage Sustainable Tourism Strategy TG-WH / TG-STS St. Peter Ording 3 June Opening of the Meeting and Adoption of the Agenda The meeting will commence at 13:00. Mr Co Verdaas (WSB Chairman) will open the meeting. The meeting will be invited to adopt the draft agenda of the meeting. 2. WSB request and ToR The WSB 16 agreed that a fundamental discussion was needed about the use and application of the World Heritage Brand and logo and that, as already agreed at WSB-15, a joint meeting of TG-WH and TG-STS was required to prepare this discussion, in particular by clearly identifying the main differences in position between the Parties. The outcome of the meeting should be submitted to WSB World Heritage Brand Challenges and Opportunities 3.1 Status Identification of positions of the Parties on the use of the World Heritage Brand (preparatory work): - What has been achieved, what works well? (strength) - What are the challenges in using the brand? (weaknesses) - What is the added values for the parties, the Trilateral Cooperation and World Heritage (opportunities, benefits for partners, protection of OUV) - What are the main risks to avoid when using the WH brand? (threats) 3.2 Analysis and discussion The meeting is invited to discuss the results of the analysis with the aim of preparing a jointly agreed SWOT analysis. 3.3 Recommendations to WSB and next steps The meeting is invited to prepare recommendations to WSB on how to overcome the challenges, realize the opportunities of the WH brand, and minimize the risks 4. Any Other Business The meeting will be invited to discuss any other business. 5. Closing The meeting will be closed at at the latest.