The aim of the project is to collate the monitoring data from the five German UNESCO World Heritage sub-areas, evaluate it in terms of socially relevant issues, process it for the World Heritage reporting system and make recommendations for the future collection and evaluation of the data. This is part of the obligation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to regularly collect and publish research and monitoring data on the World Heritage areas. A comprehensive comparative perspective of the sites with each other is now to be undertaken for the first time. The benefits to society of the “off-timber use” of these forests is a central theme in communication with the public.
The evaluation of the monitoring data focuses on the benefits of the components of the World Heritage Site for climate protection and biodiversity conservation, which includes the aspects of resilience and closeness to nature. It also looks at stockpiling and the amount of wood lost to the market. The results will be presented to the public and discussed at a specialist event in the 15th anniversary year. agrathaer and the ECONIC Institute are jointly responsible for implementing the project.
Further information on the project can be found on the project website.