World heritage and tourism in a changing climate
World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate provides insights into the vulnerability of World Heritage sites to climate change and its potential implications for the global tourism industry. It examines the close relationship between World Heritage and tourism, and how climate change is likely to pose new challenges and exacerbate existing problems caused by unplanned tourist development and uncontrolled or poorly managed visitor access, as well as other threats and stresses.
The report, through 12 fully referenced case studies and 18 shorter views of cultural and natural World Heritage sites, shows how climate-driven changes, now and in the future, threaten their outstanding universal value and integrity, as well as the economies and communities that depend on their tourist appeal. Most importantly, they provide examples of a wide range of climate impacts, supported by robust scientific evidence.
Drawing together common themes in the relationship between World Heritage, climate change and tourism, the publication presents a series of stakeholder recommendations for action, including:
- Identifying those World Heritage sites most vulnerable to climate change and strengthening systems for continued assessment, monitoring and early warning of impacts
- Ensuring that effective risk reduction, disaster response and preparedness strategies are in place, and are updated regularly utilizing the latest climate science
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