To what degree does a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing improve the conservation of heritage sites? Insights from the case of the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site (South Africa-Lesotho)

International audienceIn this paper, I evaluate the impacts of a World Heritage property listing in terms of conservation, using as a case study the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, a transboundary area located in South Africa and Lesotho. More precisely, I assess the degree to which the 2013 extension of the UNESCO property initially listed in 2000, to include the Sehlabathebe Park in Lesotho, led to changes in the modalities of rock art site conservation, these sites being key heritage resource sites on the World Heritage List. I demonstrate that the conservation outcomes of a World Heritage listing depend on several interacting parameters, such as the type of property listed, the listing procedure, the list functioning, the actors involved, and the multi-scale issues associated with the listed property. In conclusion, I emphasise the need for multiscale contextualisation of the effectiveness of a World Heritage listing for the conservation of a property