Water Management for Sustainable Development of World Heritage Properties

As climate change and water-related threats like floods and droughts intensify, water management must become a key component of World Heritage management plans. Currently, these plans are not required to address water management even though an increasing number of sites are encountering water-related challenges. A lack of comprehensive data and knowledge sharing hampers efforts to collectively address these issues, posing a risk to the preservation of their Outstanding Universal Value. This article examines the significance of water management for World Heritage Sites, including sites directly connected to water and those facing water-related threats. It presents three examples from Germany to illustrate these challenges and underscores the need for improved knowledge sharing and integration between World Heritage properties and their surrounding environments.