Management plan

The Dutch and Belgian authorities share responsibility for the long-term implementation of the site management plan and for timely compliance with UNESCO’s procedural requirements.

Site holders
The Netherlands and Belgium have chosen to be joint site holders, offering them a simple, pragmatic and effective approach to this transnational, serial World Heritage Site. In the Netherlands, the Province of Drenthe is the designated site holder, while in Flanders it is the Province of Antwerp, which has delegated this task to the non-profit organisation Kempens Landschap.

Site and colony managers
On an overarching level, both site holders oversee the operational performance and preparation of tasks for which they are responsible. The site holders appoint an operational site manager who is supported by a programme office. The site manager also functions as an extension of and is accountable to the joint site holders. Each colony has one colony manager. If multiple colonies are clustered into a management unit, a coordination mechanism is established.

Steering group
The member countries will establish a steering group, consisting of officials representing the provincial and municipal authorities concerned. Following nomination, the steering group will bear joint responsibility for the long-term protection of the World Heritage Site, acting on a consensus basis. The steering group will meet once or twice a year.

Advisory Committee for Science, Education and Quality
The steering group will establish an Advisory Committee for Science, Education and Quality to advise it and the two site holders. Besides possessing cultural heritage expertise, the Committee will also be knowledgeable about spatial and landscape quality and nature conservation.

Management challenges
The management plan is effective for the 2020-2030 period and focuses on the protection, preservation, sustainable maintenance and management of the World Heritage Site. Efforts will be made to ensure the appropriate incorporation of new developments and to tell the story of the World Heritage Site to the public. The management plan identifies the policy measures and management activities that will be undertaken to protect the World Heritage Site’s OUV and to communicate the values and significance of the Colonies of Benevolence.

The long-term strategy for all the colonies is to preserve and enhance the OUV. Their main challenge is to maintain the quality of life at the various locations and to seek out and incorporate new economic activities and developments. Appropriate to this development philosophy is a strategy that emphasises the cultural and historical unity of the colonies and takes that unity as inspiration for sustainable development.

The site holders envisage the colonies as a ‘living landscape’ in which development remains possible, provided its impact is neutral or supports their OUV.

The focus in the colonies will initially be on adaptive reuse of vacant properties before restoring them in a manner consistent with the relevant landscape structures and history of the colonies.

In terms of financing and cost allocation, the basic assumption is that each colony will bear its own costs for implementing the management measures. The parties will together bear the cost of overall management and coordination, including monitoring and interim reporting obligations.

The story of the Colonies of Benevolence deserves to be told. The landscapes and buildings are well worth visiting and bring the story to life. The site holders and colony managers have joined together to share their story and to draw attention to the colonies’ locations, the unity of their landscapes, and their appeal. They are doing so in cooperation with stakeholders that are setting up visitor centres in the colonies. Each colony tells the story of the Colonies of Benevolence as a whole and its own particular story as a component of this serial and transnational World Heritage Site.

Scroll down to download the full text of the management plan, which is divided into a main document and three sub-sections covering the various colonies (and groups of colonies).