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About the World Monuments Watch 2022
Launched in 1996 by the World Monuments Fund (WMF), the Watch is announced every two years and includes sites nominated by individuals and community-based organizations that span the globe.
Since the program’s inception, the Watch has been a proven tool for raising awareness about heritage places in need of protection and galvanizing action and support for their preservation. Heritage sites can be nominated by any individual or organization, ensuring that the Watch remains a powerful platform for amplifying voices of local community members and residents.
The 2022 open call resulted in more than 225 nominations that underwent extensive internal and external review by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and an independent panel of international heritage experts responsible for the final selection.
Representing 24 countries and spanning nearly 12,000 years of history, the 2022 Watch encompasses a broad range of examples of how global challenges manifest and intersect at heritage sites, providing opportunities to improve the lives of communities as they adapt for the future.
Global Challenges
Climate change
As global warming continues to intensify, innovative methods as well as reinforcement of traditional knowledge are necessary to mitigate its impact on heritage places and help communities adapt.
Underrepresentation
Inequities in heritage result in oversight and neglect of many significant places. Greater efforts should be made to amplify narratives that tell a more textured, just and complete story of humanity.
Imbalanced Tourism
Both overtourism and lack of visitation endanger heritage places and often sideline or disrupt local communities and their way of life. Sustainable tourism strategies are needed to recalibrate the impact of tourism and ensure just outcome for local communities.
Crisis Recovery
Armed conflict, natural disaster, and other types of destruction can cause irreparable damage to heritage places and communities. Community-led preservation efforts can participate in building resilience and regenerating the social fabric in places affected by crisis.
Inclusion of Lamanai on the 2022 World Monuments Watch underscores these challenges and the need for sustainable tourism management that integrates the local community, ensuring enhanced interpretation of diverse narratives, strengthened protection of the natural environment, and improved local benefit.
Project News
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Lamanai & Indian Church Village Stories
Featured
Watch Day at Lamanai
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS WORLD MONUMENTS FUND?
World Monuments Fund (WMF) is the leading independent organization devoted to safeguarding the world’s most treasured places to enrich people’s lives and build mutual understanding across cultures and communities. The organization is headquartered in New York City with offices and affiliates in Cambodia, India, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the UK.
WHAT IS THE WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH?
The World Monuments Watch is a biennial program that advocates for heritage places in critical need of protecting and galvanizes action and support for their preservation. This year’s announcement includes an emphasis on sites facing global challenges of climate change, imbalanced tourism, underrepresentation, and recovery from crisis. The Watch not only brings awareness to these pressures on heritage places but is the impetus for developing new field projects that provide local solutions with global relevance.
HOW DOES WMF FIND SITES FOR THE WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH?
Every two years, WMF holds an open call for nominations that undergo extensive internal and external review. Sites can be nominated by anyone in the world, ensuring that the Watch remains a powerful platform for amplifying voices of local community members and residents. This year’s open call resulted in more than 225 nominations from individuals and community-based organizations that span the globe.
WHAT KIND OF CRITERIA IS USED TO SELECT WATCH SITES?
Among the criteria considered was the site’s cultural significance, the need for timely action, and the feasibility of the proposed approach. Emphasis was also placed on lesser-known sites associated with groups whose livelihoods would be directly and meaningfully impacted by preservation activities that support community well-being.
WHY IS THE WATCH SO IMPORTANT?
The Watch provides a critical platform to raise awareness of and support for heritage sites of global significance that are facing pressures relating to climate change, imbalanced tourism, underrepresentation, and recovery from crisis. These challenges exist throughout the world, providing an opportunity for developing site-specific interventions that have global applications. By protecting these irreplaceable sites for future generations, we can also enhance social inclusion and improve the resilience of communities as they adapt for the future.
BEYOND RECOGNITION, WHAT SUPPORT DOES THE WATCH OFFER TO THESE SITES?
Over the next two years, WMF will develop new field projects in partnership with local stakeholders. Ranging from advocacy and skills training to planning and physical conservation, interventions will take different forms depending on the unique needs of the site, local context, and opportunities to support communities in addressing global challenges.
WILL WMF PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THESE SITES?
WMF’s Watch Fund, which is made possible by WMF donors, is dedicated to supporting preservation solutions at Watch sites in a variety of ways. To date, WMF has invested more than $110 million in Watch sites with an additional $300 million leveraged by site nominators because of the visibility provided by the Watch.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH FOR THE SITES ON THE 2022 WATCH, SPECIFICALLY?
The 2022 Watch sites represent a diverse array of challenges and opportunities. As such, our goals for each site are unique and are driven by the needs expressed by their stakeholders. At the same time, the projects developed as part of the Watch can provide new insights for addressing similar challenges elsewhere in the world. Some require advocacy to protect the heritage of underrepresented groups. Others need physical conservation to address damage caused by climate change as well as strategies for adapting to a warming planet. Others seek more inclusive strategies for managing tourism. In the coming months, World Monuments Fund will work with our partners on the ground to develop action plans that support their most urgent needs.
HOW MANY SITES HAVE BENEFITTED FROM THE WATCH PROGRAM OVER THE YEARS?
Since its launch in 1996, WMF has contributed more than $110 million toward projects at more than 300 Watch sites, with the visibility provided by the Watch helping communities leverage an additional $300 million from other sources.
On a sunny morning, Heritage Education Network Belize, in collaboration with World Monuments Fund (WMF), and the support of the Institute of Archaeology, NICH, hosted the "Lamanai Watch Day" at Lamanai Archaeological Reserve.