Crossing Borders — A Look at Transboundary World Heritage Sites

Map showing locations of all UNESCO transboundary World Heritage sites. Image courtesy of UNESCO.

Despite their differences, all sites inscribed on the World Heritage list share the singular trait of being recognized as having outstanding universal value (OUV). OUV is defined as sites that are so exceptionally significant that they transcend national borders, are considered important for all present and future generations (UNESCO 2021), and transcend human imposed boundaries. The transcendence of national borders is sometimes literal; UNESCO calls these ‘transboundary’ sites.

Currently, there are 43 transboundary sites inscribed on the World Heritage list. Some of these are single sites that straddle modern borders. Others are comprised of multiple, disparate components spread across various countries. Of the 43 transboundary sites on the World Heritage list, 27 are located in Europe. Two more are shared between Russia and Mongolia, with another made up of multiple architectural sites spanning three continents (UNESCO 2022). No other continent comes even close to meeting or surpassing the number of transboundary sites found in Europe. Europe, with its combination of a small geographic area, a high number of countries, a long history of shifting national borders, and the continued establishment of new nations within the geographic area are likely contributing factors to the high number of transboundary sites (World Population Review 2022). In addition, the two transboundary sites that span the most countries are also in Europe: the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe and the Struve Geodetic Arc.

Map showing UNESCO transboundary World Heritage sites located in Europe. Image courtesy of UNESCO.

Thoughts on the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests and the Struve Geodetic Arc

The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (hereafter referred to as the “Beech Forests”) and the Struve Geodetic Arc are two very different World Heritage sites. A natural heritage site, the Beech Forests were initially nominated by Ukraine and Slovakia in 2007. Since then, component forests have been added multiple times to the original site complex (World Natural Heritage Beech Forests 2022). The current Beech Forests are comprised of 94 largely undisturbed forest sections across eighteen countries. It is the most expansive transboundary World Heritage site currently inscribed, and was listed under Criterion IX (UNESCO 2021:30). The Beech Forests’ range began to expand between 11,000 and 12,000 years ago, after the last ice age. The forest’s range expansion is ongoing to adapt to changing climate conditions (UNESCO n.d.a).

Map showing locations of component forests of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. Map courtesy of World Natural Heritage Beech Forests.

Image of the Central Balkan forest from the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests. Image by Angel Ispirev.

The Struve Geodetic Arc is a cultural site, jointly nominated by ten countries and inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005 under Criteria II, IV, and VI (UNESCO n.d.b). The work of German-Russian astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve from 1816 to 1855, the Arc spans from Norway through to Ukraine. It is considered the first accurate measurement of a long segment of a meridian, and represents both scientific and political collaboration. The Struve Geodetic Arc is over 2,820 km long and was initially comprised of 258 main triangles and 265 main station points; 34 of the original main station points make up the current inscribed site with non-inscribed triangles and points receiving national protection (UNESCO n.d.c.).

Map showing inscribed points of the Struve Geodetic Arc. Map courtesy of UNESCO.

Image of the obelisk that marks the northernmost point of the Struve Geodetic Arc at Fuglenaes, Norway. Image by Francesco Bandarin.

All transboundary World Heritage sites require significant international cooperation to be successfully managed. The Beech Forests and the Struve Geodetic Arc, which have components in eighteen and ten countries, respectively, require additional international administration efforts. Difficulties include different national administration systems, available funding, legal systems, management standards, languages, and cultural values. Additionally, each component site has other community stakeholders that must be considered on a case-by-case basis (UNESCO 2019).

Despite these difficulties, there are benefits to the inscription of transboundary World Heritage sites, especially those made of multiple components in multiple countries. In particular, these benefits include increased international cooperation that leads to a greater likelihood of sustainability of the site as a whole over time, increasing the number of sites receiving protection from the World Heritage Convention without diminishing the exclusivity of the list, and the sharing of both economic and scientific benefits (UNESCO 2019).

Conclusion

There are many reports and articles, both from UNESCO (2021) and other international organizations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Vasilijević et al. 2015), as well as other researchers (Adie and Amore 2020; Albrecht 2010; Svels and Sande 2016; Vološčuk 2104) on the management of transboundary World Heritage sites, and how benefits, especially tourism, may be leveraged to the advantage of the host nations. However, a conspicuously absent aspect is how nations with individual components of transboundary sites should respond when components in other countries are in danger. Currently, only one transboundary site, the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, Africa is currently on the In Danger List. Because Mount Nimba is a single component site, it is likely that if the Guinea side is in danger, the Côte d’Ivoire side is also in danger (UNESCO 2022).

Image of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve. Image by Guy Debonnet.

For both the Beech Forests and the Struve Geodetic Arc, UNESCO states that each component is essential to the integrity of the World Heritage site. The main threats to the Beech Forests are a lack of institutional management and logging (UNESCO 2021); there is no State of Conservation for the Struve Geodetic Arc and UNESCO does not list any factors that are threatening the chain of sites. What happens when a single component of a multiple component transboundary heritage site is in danger? Is the entire site considered to be in danger? Or is only that component believed to be in danger? How does this affect the site’s integrity? UNESCO is not currently clear on what happens in these situations. This needs to be considered the management strategy for such sites, so that they may be effectively conserved and protected for future generations.