Experts, policy-makers and practitioners participating in the 3rd Huangshan Dialogue, on “UNESCO sites facilitating sustainable development” in Huangshan City, China, from 31 October to 4 November 2018,
Expressing their sincere appreciation to HIST (Int’l Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO), AIR (Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), UNESCO and Huangshan Administrative Committee for convening the 3rd Huangshan Dialogue,
Noting with satisfaction that the emphasis placed by Huangshan Declaration (2014) and Huangshan Recommendation (2016) on using UNESCO designated sites as experimental areas for contributing to SDGs by 2030, was reflected in the “Expected Result 7” of the Natural Sciences Sector of UNESCO adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2017 which reads as: “Member States have developed UNESCO-designated sites as learning sites for inclusive and comprehensive approaches to environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainable development”,
Emphasizing the potential role of space-, air- and ground-based remote sensing technologies and associated GIS and other applications, in testing the local and context-specific relevance and validity of globally set targets and indicators for attaining SDGs and for adapting them and/or suggesting new targets and indicators that will respond to communities for inclusive economic, social and environmentally sound sustainable development,
Call upon HIST, AIR, UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO National Committees responsible for coordinating the work of the World Heritage Convention, the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) and the International Geosciences and Geopark Program (IGGP) and their intergovernmental decision-making bodies responsible for the management of UNESCO designated sites to use these sites and related documentation as a shared resource to build collaborative programs and activities that aim to:
•Identify and support a network of UNESCO sites among countries along “One Belt and One Road” for potential collaboration in the future by using space technologies for the UNESCO designated sites for sustainable development;
•Strengthen the institutional and human resources capacities among UNESCO Member States that partner with China under the OBOR initiative and the DBAR Scientific Program to access and make effective use of earth observation data available via the network of Chinese satellites;
•Reinvigorate the UNESCO-ESA (European Space Agency) Open Initiative by establishing new partnerships with public and private sector enterprises in Europe to facilitate regular, easy and timely access to optical, radar and other satellite data that are being made available via the launch of Europe’s Sentinel Satellite series to benefit the network of NESCO designated sites networks for attaining SDGs;
•Enable UNESCO Secretariats coordinating the work of World Heritage sites, World Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks, as well as UNESCO Field Offices to access, collect, share and use earth observations data and other information from field-research to monitor the efforts and performance of UNESCO designated sites to contribute to attaining SDGs;
•Strengthen the communication and collaboration among UNESCO designated sites and take the sites as a platform to promote sustainable development and exchange between cultures.
•Actively Promote Huangshan’s sustainable tourism model of “minimizing the environmental disruption, maximizing the economic output, optimizing the social influence and tour experience”.  Coordinate the conservation of the world heritage sites with the social and economic development. Build UNESCO designated sites as inspirational, educational, learning and sustainable place.
•Facilitate access to earth observation data to national and local authorities who are responsible for conservation and sustainable development of UNESCO designated sites in zones prone to disasters caused by natural hazards and human activities to improve their capacities for disaster-prevention readiness, and design and implement post-disaster mitigation and rehabilitation programs;
•Disseminate relevant studies on stakeholder engagement for designing and implementing initiatives and programs on the use of space technologies and earth observation data for delivering SDGs in and around UNESCO designated sites;
•Identify opportunities for designing, developing and implementing sustainable tourism in clusters of UNESCO designated sites of partner countries along the Belt and Road, and establish targets and indicators for monitoring contributions of the tourism to attaining SDGs;
•In line with SDG target 8.9, implement sustainable tourism policy in UNESCO designated sites, create employments and facilitate the transmission and promote local cultures and products.
•In line with SDG Target 13.3, raise awareness on combating climate change and disaster risks, and strengthen the capacity-building of the managers of UNESCO designated sites in this regard.
•Strengthen coordination and collaboration between the research and capacity building efforts of theHeritage Working Group of the DBAR Scientific Program and efforts pertaining to UNESCO designated sites in UNESCO Member States along the Belt and Road to contribute to UN international cooperation agenda for delivering SDGs by 2030;
•Ensure the regular and widespread dissemination of lessons learnt in the use of space technologies and earth observation data for enabling UNESCO designated sites to contribute to the UN 2030 agenda via all relevant web and print based institutional communication outlets as well as through scientific publications, public and private sector media outlets, films, documentaries etc.