Sommer, Rosmarie

Wallner, Astrid

Wiesmann, Urs Martin

Bern Open Repository and Information System (BORIS)

167Sustainable Regional Development:Balancing Global and Local Stakes Rosmarie Sommer, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Switzerland; Astrid Wallner, CDE; Urs Wiesmann, CDEVarious studies in the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn (Switzerland) and Mt. Kenya (Kenya) World Heritage Sites reveal that they provide an internationally acknowledged label for shared land-scapes as a common asset for regional development. The decisive element in success is genu-ine participation in planning and shared access to the bene ts of change. The studies conﬁ rm that global frame conditions can only be as effective as their local level of compliance and implemen-tation and that the purpose of site protection differs between countries in the North and the South. The North focuses on: counter-balancing peripherisation,•preserving the cultural landscape,•enhancing touristic attractiveness,•strengthening regional identity and•promoting more sustainable development.•The South focuses on: easing pressure on the sites by constraining natural resource •exploitation, often without due compensation and by em-powering local stakeholders to prevent resource conﬂ icts.This results in the following opportunities and success factors in sustainable regional development (see Table 1):Feature Jungfrau Aletsch Bietschhorn WHS Mt. Kenya WHSRegulatory Frameworkwell functioning y legally binding policy guide y weak regulating governance y local-level self regulation  ypracticesGlobal WHS Label identity building over common concerns  yin heterogeneous spatial units landscape protection but  yalso inhibition of agriculturerisk of economic loss yOpportunitiesinterconnectedness yeconomic/touristic landscape validation y decentralised employment y vehicle to address con icts  yof interest natural resource use regula- ytionFigure 1: Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn region (courtesy of Management Centre Unesco World Heritage Site Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn)Table 1: Overview of main features of Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn and Mount Kenya regionsFigure 3: Mount Kenya region (Photo by U. Wiesmann)Figure 2: Panel of stakeholders (courtesy of Management Centre Unesco World Heritage Site Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn)Synthesis Themes in the JACS

Sustainable Regional Development: Balancing Global and Local Stakes

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Sustainable Regional Development: Balancing Global and Local Stakes

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