Learning from Participatory Practices: The Integrated Management Plan for Petra World Heritage Site in Jordan

Abstract

When the Petra World Heritage Site Integrated Management Plan was officially endorsed in 2019, it was the first management plan for the site to be legally recognised. The plan also uniquely emerged from a sophisticated interactive and participatory process designed to engage with as many stakeholders as possible to build consensus and foster interdisciplinary approaches to long-standing issues. Over a two-year period, from inception and planning to the final endorsement of the Integrated Management Plan, a dedicated technical team facilitated collaborative work practices and enabled the co-creation of management policies. This paper is a reflexive evaluation of the process by the team and draws on first-hand accounts and experiences to evaluate the impacts this methodology and approach has had on stakeholders and its longer-term legacies. Although Petra is a complex site facing significant pressures and multifaceted user demands, the participatory process has nonetheless empowered stakeholders who had not traditionally engaged in decision-making processes to become more engaged and established a management planning approach that can be adapted for cultural heritage sites in Jordan and in the wider region.