Asia and the Pacific countries meet to discuss the implementation of the World Heritage Regional Framework Action Plan

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre held two online consultations for the mid-cycle review of the Regional Framework Action Plan for Asia and the Pacific (2023 - 2030), strengthening collaboration with States Parties and Category 2 Centres.

On 3 and 5 February 2026, the World Heritage Centre organized two online meetings for the States Parties in the Asia and Pacific sub-regions, as part of the mid-cycle review of the Regional Framework Action Plan (2023–2030). The meetings brought together 113 participants, including representatives from 30 different States Parties, with a total of 26 participants from the Pacific and 67 participants from Asia, along with all five Category 2 Centres in the region and the UNESCO Offices. These two meetings provided a platform to share experiences, review progress and explore opportunities for further collaboration.

The meetings included presentations on technical support and capacity-building programmes delivered by Category 2 Centres, covering training, data collection, remote sensing and preparation of nomination dossiers. They also provided an opportunity to highlight some of the national priorities, including site management, integration of buffer zones, heritage impact assessments and regional cooperation initiatives. Speakers emphasized the importance of continuous training and professional capacity building, especially through workshops and other knowledge exchange modalities for site managers and heritage professionals.

Participants highlighted the crucial role of UNESCO Offices in transposing regional priorities into concrete national, local and site-level actions, maintaining dialogue with States Parties and ensuring alignment between global frameworks and on-the-ground realities. The diversity, clarity, relevance and operational focus of the contributions were recognized as major strengths of the consultations.

The two consultations helped reaffirm the World Heritage Centre’s commitment to supporting States Parties and fostering partnerships to safeguard cultural and natural heritage for future generations.

The outcomes of the mid-cycle review for the Asia and the Pacific region will be published ahead of the upcoming 48th session of the World Heritage Committee (Busan, July 2026), during which the Committee will review and discuss them, providing strategic guidance for the remainder of the implementation period of the Regional Framework Action Plan for Asia and the Pacific (2023-2030).