UNESCO Evaluation Confirms Sites as Living Laboratories for Climate Action

A major evaluation of the £1.8 million Climate Change and UNESCO Heritage (CCUH) Project has confirmed that UNESCO-designated sites, including the North Devon Biosphere, provide uniquely powerful environments for tackling climate challenges.
​
The 18-month project, funded through HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund and delivered with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, tested new models for climate adaptation, governance, and community engagement across three UK sites: North Devon Biosphere Reserve, Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site, and Fforest Fawr Geopark.

​The evaluation highlights that UNESCO sites act as “living laboratories” where culture, nature, and communities converge, enabling partners to trial innovative approaches to resilience and decision-making. Key outcomes include:

• Participatory climate adaptation methods that strengthened local capacity and confidence in joint planning.
• Development of the UK’s first cross-UNESCO FAIR data catalogue prototypes and open-source tools for climate and heritage data.
• Engagement of twelve government departments in a new governance structure, demonstrating heritage as a platform for integrated policy.
• Creative community engagement through the FutureScapes model, involving over 600 stakeholders in place-based climate dialogue.

The report concludes that people and partnerships—not technology alone—drive effective climate action, and that UNESCO sites offer the collaborative conditions needed for systems-based, landscape-scale responses.
Read the full evaluation on the UK National Commission for UNESCO website.