First insurance industry guide for protecting UNESCO World Heritage Sites launches

Written by Michael Griffiths

15/10/2019

World insurance leaders have united to launch the first industry guide aimed at protecting the world’s most priceless and irreplaceable assets.

The launch was made at a major event for leading insurers, investors and banks by UN Environment’s Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) in São Paulo, Brazil.

To develop the guide – Protecting our World Heritage, insuring a sustainable future – UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI), the largest collaboration between the UN and the insurance industry, worked with its member insurers, WWF and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The PSI was also supported by the sustainability service provider, ECOFACT.

The leader of the PSI at UN Environment, Butch Bacani, who launched the guide in São Paulo, commented: “Protecting World Heritage Sites for present and future generations is not an option, but an obligation for all.

“Losing these treasures means losing sources of life, inspiration and human well-being, and losing the war against unsustainable development.”

“This guide will help insurers protect our world’s most prized assets in their risk management, insurance and investment activities, while curbing carbon emissions, building disaster resilience, and ensuring healthy ecosystems.

“We call on insurers around the world to unite behind the science, show decisive leadership, and take ambitious action in insuring a sustainable future.”

World Heritage Sites are recognised for their beauty, global significance or biological diversity, and the important economic, social and environmental benefits that they provide. Natural World Heritage Sites also deliver vital resources, such as food and water, contributing significantly to economies through jobs, tourism and recreation.

Almost half of the natural World Heritage Sites, however, are currently threatened by industrial activities and large infrastructure developments, which could potentially cause irreversible damage.

“This practical guide will enable the insurance sector to make long-term investment decisions that reflect the value of natural World Heritage Sites and support the 11 million people who depend on them for their well-being,” said WWF finance practice leader, Margaret Kuhlow.

“We look forward to continuing our work with UNESCO and PSI to support the industry in implementing this guidance.”

The guide aims to provide practical guidance for insurers on how to prevent or reduce the risk of insuring and investing in companies or projects whose activities could damage World Heritage Sites – particularly in relation to sectors such as oil and gas, mining, and large-scale hydropower.

Other relevant sectors include logging, fishing, agriculture, plantations, and large-scale infrastructure, such as pipelines, roads and mega-ports.

UNESCO assistant director-general for culture, Ernesto Ottone R., added: “Conserving World Heritage sites is the duty of every one of us. Too many World Heritage sites are threatened by unsustainable development, or large-scale infrastructure.

“We believe the banking and insurance sectors can significantly contribute to protecting these outstanding places by ensuring that their portfolios avoid projects which could impact them. This publication is a very practical and hands-on toolkit on how to achieve this.”

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