Baku Declaration Adopted at the Transhumance Expert Conference
This Declaration is an outcome of the expert conference “Transhumance Landscapes of Global Importance” held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 23-24 June 2025, within the framework of the ICOMOS World Heritage Transhumance Initiative. The conference was kindly hosted by the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The event brought together specialists from leading international organizations, including the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), ICOMOS, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Experts from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Türkiye, France, Montenegro, Kenya, Ghana, Benin, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Georgia took part, alongside scientists from research institutes and universities, as well as local experts.
The conference, which ran through June 25, sought to examine nomadic cultural landscapes across different regions of the world, explore strategies for preserving this unique heritage, and discuss ways to harness their sustainable tourism potential amid the challenges posed by climate change and socio-economic transformation.
The Transhumance conference also discussed practical mechanisms for preserving this type of heritage, realizing its tourism potential, protecting similar cultural landscapes around the world, and including them on the World Heritage List, using the example of the cultural landscape “Khinaliq Village and the Migration Route,” which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.