Who takes care of the World Heritage Site? State has the main responsibility to protect and manage the World Heritage Site, because the state has also signed the World Heritage Convention and the World Heritage Site application. In Sweden and Finland, the regional or national authorities have the practical management responsibility. For our World Heritage, the County Administrative Board of Västernorrland is responsible for the High Coast and Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland is responsible for the Kvarken Archipelago.
Management in the High Coast
In the High Coast, a management council discusses the management of the World Heritage. The management council includes representatives from the County Administrative Board and politicians and civil servants from Kramfors and Örnsköldvik municipalities.The management council also writes a management plan, which is valid three years at a time.
Managamenent in the Kvarken Archipelago
The Kvarken Archipelago has an advisory committee, which includes regional authorities, municipalities and local stakeholders. The committee has made a development strategy for the Kvarken Archipelago. From the strategy, the committee produces an action plan every second year.
Managing the joint World Heritage together
The World Heritage Site has also a joint, transnational cooperation group that meets twice per year. This group includes local politicians, civil servants and responsible management authorities from both Sweden and Finland. The cooperation group focuses on the joint management and other issues that affect the joint World Heritage Site. Every six or seven years, the cooperation group writes a report to UNESCO. The report describes the state of the management, protection and threats to the site. If necessary, UNESCO can also demand a statement of conservation to get a better understanding of potential threats and dangers.
If you think that there is a threat to our World Heritage Site that we are not aware of or not doing enough about, contact one of the World Heritage Coordinators.