In a research and development project, natural properties and organically evolved cultural landscapes in Germany were assessed for their potential to be nominated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Serial nominations (comprising multiple areas) and transboundary nominations were also considered, reflecting the fact that many of Europe’s natural assets can only be fully appreciated in an international context. The German Wadden Sea was excluded because it was already on Germany’s Tentative List at the time of the study. 

The study indicated potential for the nomination of German beech forests as Natural World Heritage. This was taken up and examined in a more detail in a feasibility study.

On 25 June 2011, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the expansion of the Slovakian-Ukrainian Beech Forest Natural World Heritage site (The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians) via Germany’s beech forest cluster, “The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany”. On 7 July 2017, the UNESCO Committee again expanded the existing World Heritage site, “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech forests of Germany”. Some 94 beech forests in 18 European countries were added to the World Heritage list. The expanded World Heritage site now bears the name “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”.

At the end of June 2009, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added the Wadden Sea to the World Heritage list.

In June 2011, the World Heritage Committee approved a change to the site boundary and thus the expansion of the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park. In 2014, the area was expanded to include the missing Danish section.

With the nomination of the Wadden Sea as a Natural World Heritage site, the three countries (Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands) fulfil their obligations under the World Heritage Convention. The Wadden Sea is a valuable ecosystem which is being preserved as a transnational World Heritage site for current and future generations. 

BfN plays an active role in the trilateral World Heritage Working Group, currently acting as the lead agency. The working group drafted the World Heritage Management Plan for the trilateral site.

Based on the requirements of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, a feasibility study (conducted by the Institute of Landscape Architecture at the University of Freiburg and Agrathear, a consultancy for strategic land use) looked at the outstanding natural and cultural values and the associated areas of the Green Belt in Germany and Europe, and compared the Green Belt with similar sites worldwide.

The study examined potentially outstanding, universal values, possible nomination criteria, the status of integrity (state of conservation and natural condition) and authenticity, as well as protection and management mechanisms for a potential World Heritage site. 

On 25 June 2011, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee confirmed the expansion of the Natural World Heritage sites (Slovakian-Ukrainian Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, inscribed in 2007) via the German beech forest cluster: Ancient Beech Forests of Germany. The cluster involves selected areas of the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park in Hesse, the Hainich National Park in Thuringia and the Jasmund National Park and Müritz National Park in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, as well as the Grumsin Beech Forest strictly protected zone in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve in Brandenburg. The decision for the nomination was based on the results of the feasibility study mentioned above.

With the nomination of German beech forests, Germany has a special responsibility to protect and preserve the beech forests in Europe.

Following the nomination of the trilateral beech forest areas in Germany, Slovakia and Ukraine as Natural World Heritage sites in 2011, the World Heritage Committee called upon the three countries to continue their efforts and identify additional beech forests worthy of protection.

The aim of the European Heritage Beech Forests research project was to investigate the potential for a conclusive serial nomination of European beech forests and thereby guarantee the protection and preservation of these unique ecosystems.

In the course of the project, the main aim was to support the scientific, technical and organisational processes involved in a potential expansion nomination. To identify potential forests, areas proposed by experts or identified by the competent authorities were subjected to an expert assessment with regard to the criteria to be met for World Heritage nomination. In a number of expert workshops, an agreement was finally reached on potential candidate areas. 

In 2017 and again in 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided in favour of expanding the site. The expanded World Heritage site now bears the name “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”. It comprises 94 beech forest areas measuring some 100,000 hectares in 18 countries in total.

The Green Belt refers to the historic natural and cultural landscape along the former intra-German and Central European border between East and West, the so-called Iron Curtain. Owing to the remoteness of and limited human activity in the former border area, nature has been able to develop undisturbed, and a rich abundance of largely endangered species and biotopes has been preserved. The remains of the former border fortifications constitute historical cultural monuments to the Cold War and the former East-West divide. 

Using the provisions of the Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention as the basis, a feasibility study carried out by the Institute for Landscape Conservation at the University of Freiburg and Agrathear, a consultancy for strategic land use, examined the outstanding natural and cultural values and the associated areas of the Green Belt in Germany and Europe, and compared the Green Belt globally with similar sites. The study looked at the potential outstanding universal value, the potential nomination criteria, the status of integrity (state of conservation and naturalness) and authenticity, as well as the protection and management mechanisms of a potential World Heritage site.

The study concludes that a World Heritage nomination would only be feasible within the scope of complex nomination scenarios, each of which would require a comprehensive multinational coordination framework involving several European states and the support of further research. A nomination of the German Green Belt on its own is not feasible, as it would not meet the nomination criteria.

The study set out two possible nomination scenarios (A and B), each of which was developed as a transnational serial nomination (i.e. involving several countries with geographically separate components). Like the European Green Belt, the scenarios developed are strongly influenced by the Cold War border system and the resulting effects on nature.

The results of the project make it clear that, from a nature conservation policy standpoint, a nomination of the Green Belt only makes sense if natural heritage criteria are taken into account (Scenario A: nomination as a mixed site under both cultural and natural heritage criteria). If a nomination were to be made exclusively on the basis of cultural heritage criteria (Scenario B), it is to be expected that nature conservation objectives would be overshadowed by those of cultural heritage preservation. A nomination under Scenario A would require a complex multinational nomination process in consultation with stakeholders in the field of cultural heritage conservation.

A mandatory prerequisite for a nomination is the inclusion of a proposed site on the national Tentative List of all the states concerned. The process of compiling the Tentative List is currently underway.

World Natural Heritage sites are facing increased pressure from human use worldwide. This applies both to the sites themselves and to their respective buffer zones. While the protection of sites is explicitly the main focus as set out in the World Heritage Convention, talks currently being held in the World Heritage Committee and the General Assembly of the Convention on the ‘Future of the World Heritage Convention’ highlight the need for a detailed examination of different forms of use and the associated pressures they bring. The valuation and communication of ecosystem (services) and the benefits that World Heritage sites provide to local populations play an important role.

The aim of the project was to develop a systematic approach for use in identifying and valuing the services and benefits of World Natural Heritage sites worldwide. Knowledge gaps were to be identified and recommendations drawn up for site managers and decision-makers with a view to promoting long-term protection of World Natural Heritage sites and their ecosystem services. The project comprised the following sub-objectives:

• To identify the services provided by World Natural Heritage sites
• To test various valuation methods for suitability
• To develop an online ‘Benefits Atlas’ which enables users to search by different types of use and also illustrates both the services provided by World Natural Heritage sites and the benefits they bring.

As part of the project, spatial modelling tools and both directly related and supplementary datasets were used to assess the ecosystem services and benefits of World Natural Heritage sites, the aim being to conduct a global analysis of two types of ecosystem service (carbon sequestration and water supply). The data collected by the IUCN World Heritage Outlook assessment system was also used to identify the full range of ecosystem services and benefits provided by World Natural Heritage sites. The scope for applying various assessment methods to the ecosystem services provided by World Natural Heritage sites was explored by compiling existing case studies. 

Analysis of carbon stocks in the pantropics has shown that the World Natural Heritage sites in these regions harbour a total of 5.7 billion tonnes of carbon in forest biomass. Compared with other protected areas in the pantropical biomes, the World Natural Heritage sites also have a higher density of forest biomass, thereby demonstrating both their important role in carbon sequestration and their significant contribution to climate protection.

Analysis of the data collected by the World Heritage Outlook system has shown that World Natural Heritage sites provide a wide range of benefits worldwide. The benefits most frequently identified at site level are recreation and tourism (93% of all sites), aesthetic values (93%), resources for knowledge-building (92%), creation of employment opportunities (91%), contribution to education (84%) and wilderness and iconic values (84%). In terms of environmental services, water supply ranks highest, with 66% of all sites recognised as important for water supply and/or water quality. Other important benefits provided by around half of all sites include carbon sequestration, soil stabilisation and flood protection (52% percent, 48% and 45% respectively).

An IUCN study, The Benefits of Natural World Heritage, recognises the special role played by ecosystem services, particularly at World Natural Heritage sites. It also highlights the importance of integrating World Natural Heritage sites more closely into local land-use and development planning so that the sites can deliver their maximum benefits.

Various case studies have also been compiled:

• Case studies highlighting the various types of ecosystem services and benefits (coastal protection, nature-based tourism, etc.)
• Case studies on economic valuation, which include examples of the valuation of ecosystem services and present various valuation methods
• Case studies on governance and different management approaches relating to ecosystem services

As part of a second project, the scope of research into ecosystem services (ES) at World Natural Heritage sites was expanded, drawing on the now broader and more current dataset. The focus was placed at the level of the World Heritage sites themselves, the aim being to better integrate ES into the management of these sites and related decision-making processes. In the course of the project, existing tools and methods (developed for the valuation of ecosystem services) were examined, along with their applicability at World Natural Heritage sites. A selection of tools and methods suitable for use at World Natural Heritage sites has been collated in a guide which, with the aid of a decision tree, enables the identification of the most appropriate tool for recording and assessing different ecosystem services. The guidance document – Tools for measuring, modelling, and valuing ecosystem services: Guidance for Key Biodiversity Areas, natural World Heritage sites, and protected areas – was subsequently published by the IUCN.