MANAGING AND PROMOTING A TECTONIC AND VOLCANIC WORLD HERITAGE PROPOSAL – PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHAîNE DES PUYS – LIMAGNE FAULT UNESCO NOMINATION

Over more than seven years I have managed a World Heritage nomination for a tectonic and volcanic property: the Chaîne des Puys – Limagne Fault. I describe the journey from initiation to nomination submission, the subsequent evaluation by UNESCO and the project debate at the UNESCO World Heritage meeting at Doha in 2014. I will update on the present dialog underway between UNESCO, the advisory body (IUCN) and the project. It started at a very small scale by one local politician's decision, but quickly found broad support from all sectors (local inhabitants, farmers, industrialists, environmentalists, industry and academics). A locally-based team was created avoiding professional consultants and from the start consulting with relevant international scientific and heritage bodies. Possible World Heritage status was validated by valuating the constituent geological features (rift fault, monogenetic volcano chain, exhumed plateau and inverted relief), and their combined value as a tectono-volcanic ensemble. Other factors, e.g. site integrity, educational value, and management and protection were explored. Once the idea was validated the dossier was presented to the French state, which took several years of preparation. In 2013 the dossier was accepted by France, and submitted to UNESCO. Subsequent to the field inspection and desktop reviews the IUCN report was negative. However, invoking strong international scientific support, the project was successfully defended in 2014, and the 39^th WH committee upheld it with a 'referral' status. This means that a complementary information package has to be prepared, clarifying the link between tectonics and volcanism. At present the project is undertaking a deepened dialog with the IUCN to resolve the scientific differences. It is hoped that the outcome of this struggle will be inscription of the site in 2016, and that the process will lead to improved understanding of geology and geoheritage at UNESCO.