ARC-WH sought to support the nomination and preservation of future natural World Heritage sites located in the region, many of which are outstanding testaments to the region’s rich terrestrial and marine biodiversity, as well as desert landscapes.

A regional workshop was organised in cooperation with IUCN at ARC-WH’s premises, entitled ‘World Heritage Nominations: Application of the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (SOOUV)’. The workshop took place from 7 to 10 November 2016 and was attended by 25 experts from 15 countries. The aim was to train and enhance the experts’ capacities to identify the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of a potential World Heritage site with regard to the process of preparing a nomination.