The African Natural Heritage Review – entitled Natural World Heritage in Africa: Progress and Prospects – will provide a highly accessible, short and simple synthesis of key World Heritage information: What is the World Heritage Convention and how does it work? How can World Heritage status benefit people and nature? What are the existing natural and mixed World Heritage sites in Africa? What are some of the possible priorities for new World Heritage sites? Why and how should countries prepare new World Heritage nominations?

To answer these questions, the report will bring together (on about 45 pages of text) essential information mostly from existing work, including various IUCN and UNESCO documents. In particular, the report will build on, update and expand the 2011 African Natural Heritage brochure produced by IUCN and UNEP-WCMC. The 2011 brochure highlighted 16 possible priority areas for new nominations under the Convention’s biodiversity criteria. Since then, 8 new natural and mixed sites from Africa have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, including 5 of the 16 priority areas identified in 2011. Eight of the remaining 11 priority areas are currently included on countries’ Tentative Lists as potential future nominations. The report will revisit this selection and add to this as necessary.

The African Natural Heritage Review will go beyond the 2011 brochure by 1) providing more information on World Heritage and its benefits, 2) profiling all existing natural and mixed World Heritage sites in Africa, and 3) providing an updated overview of possible priorities for new World Heritage sites. To provide a holistic picture of the whole continent, the report will cover all 54 countries in Africa. The report will summarize progress, opportunities and challenges in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Africa, and thus serve as a key reference for decision-makers and anybody interested in Africa’s rich natural heritage.

Proposals are accepted by midnight on 16 December 2019. Contracting is expected to be concluded by 17 January 2020, with work beginning in the week of 20January 2020.The consultancy shall be conducted over a period of 2 months.

Read all the details of the consultancy here.