Armed conflict and governance of natural World Heritage sites in Africa. A review

Abstract

Introduction. The World Heritage Convention is the only global treaty promoting sites' universal exceptionality. Since its adoption in 1972, armed conflicts have led to the inclusion of eight protected areas in sub-Saharan Africa on the List of World Heritage in Danger. In 2023, insecurity persisted in six African natural sites and threatened five in the region out of the forty-two sites on the World Heritage List. The consequences for these sites are a proliferation of illegal activities, loss of biodiversity and human life, changes in governance systems, and new community dynamics. This is a worrying situation, and we are documenting the state of conservation and governance systems of these protected areas affected by armed conflict. Literature. A search was carried out using Google Scholar , Scopus (for the period 2000-2023) and official reports (from the inscription of the site until 2024) submitted by countries on the state of conservation of natural UNESCO World Heritage sites in Africa. The scientific literature does not sufficiently address the determinants of armed conflicts affecting African natural World Heritage sites or the connections between the quality of governance of Protected Areas and the emergence and/ or resolution of armed conflicts. Understanding the origins and foundations of these armed conflicts requires an in-depth analysis of several determinants linked to the existence of these protected areas and an assessment of the effectiveness of the governance systems, which is rarely available. Conclusions. There are still gaps in scientific knowledge about natural World Heritage sites located in zones of armed conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. Several issues concerning these Protected Areas located in zones of armed conflict remain to be explored. We suggest that the following themes be addressed as a priority for future research: (i) the analysis of the sociocultural and religious determinants behind contemporary armed conflicts affecting Protected Areas in Africa and (ii) the factors that limit the resolution of armed conflicts that affect natural World Heritage sites in Africa.