Nelson Mandela Bay is one of a handful of cities in the world where five major biomes converge.

Algoa Bay is the Bottlenose Dolphin Capital of the World and a Hope Spot, the Alexandria dunefield edging the Bay’s marine protected area is the largest and most unspoilt in the southern hemisphere, our islands are home to the world’s largest breeding colonies of endangered African penguins and Cape gannets ...

Blue Flag beaches, a rich architectural landscape (albeit under threat), links to the liberation struggle, a melting-pot cultural heritage influenced by diverse peoples — Khoisan, Griqua, Xhosa, colonial settlers, trekboere ...

The gateway to malariafree game reserves of the Eastern Cape, one could go on — the discovery of rare stromatolites (marine living fossils) along the coast, Stone Age Khoisan fishtraps, rock art and shell middens, a treasure trove of historic shipwrecks ...

Cumulatively, these assets are extraordinary, but are we doing our best to sustainably realise their economic value to the benefit of Nelson Mandela Bay’s people?

What if we could take all the many good initiatives driven by different organisations in the city “next level” and bring the advantages of this unique biodiversity and cultural heritage under one umbrella?

An umbrella that would provide a catalyst for conservation and preservation, attracting local and international tourists, creating jobs and expanding delivery of infrastructure and services?

Put all the elements of Algoa Bay, including the Alexandria “dune sea”, together and you have something quite powerful; arguably a globally important site of natural and cultural heritage, a potential Unesco Mixed World Heritage Site (WHS).

Mixed World Heritage Sites are home to both natural and cultural heritage of “outstanding universal value”, significant beyond national boundaries and of common importance to humanity — contributing to our understanding of the past and worthy of preservation.

In Africa, they include the transboundary Maloti-Drakensberg Park of SA and Lesotho, with its dramatic unspoilt mountain scenery, endangered flora and fauna and prehistoric rock art; and the biodiversity and archaeological heritage of Ngorongoro in Tanzania.

The ancient story of human activity and geomorphic evolution told in Trang An in Vietnam is a mixed WHS, as are the tropical forest biodiversity and ancient Mayan city of Calakmul in Mexico, and the art, architecture and traditional farming practices of Greek monasteries of the 11th century.

World Heritage Sites not only facilitate conservation of areas under threat, they raise global awareness and attract international tourists, many of whom travel the globe from one WHS to the next.

They do this for good reason — knowing they will experience something spectacular, the very best of a country and of global significance, a site that meets rigorous international standards.

Importantly, a WHS has a core focus on benefiting local people — recognising local culture and history, enabling local communities to showcase their distinct connection to the area, safeguarding natural heritage through a human rights-based approach to socioeconomic development.

Nelson Mandela Bay has long faced the challenge of how to retain tourists for more than 24 hours — a World Heritage Site could well be the catalyst.

The envisaged WHS will likely host interpretive, educational visitor centres, walkways, trails and other ways to experience the area.

It will require people trained in conservation and protection, local nature and heritage tour guides who can share their culture and indigenous knowledge, accommodation establishments and restaurants, conference venues, boat tour operators, transport providers, makers of traditional foods, traditional performers and artists — there are all manner of opportunities.

Providing energy and water, transport and other infrastructure to support tourism and conservation in the hubs of the WHS will have spin-off benefits into surrounding, often marginalised communities that have lacked these services and access to the economy.

Reaching the point of a submission to Unesco takes extensive research and stakeholder participation to produce the required body of evidence.

It is critically important the process is inclusive — role players from across the spectrum of academia, local and provincial government, tourism, heritage and environmental agencies, community organisations and traditional leaders will need to be involved.

And we will need to have a strong, united voice in making the case to provincial and then national government to present the submission to Unesco on behalf of the country.

With experience in doing the groundwork for the WHS of the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KZN, the Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA) has put up its hand to play a co-ordinating role to develop the dossier for Algoa Bay and the Alexandria dunefield mixed WHS.

The process of developing the body of evidence, lobbying to get onto SA’s tentative list and then main list, having the country submit the dossier to the World Heritage Centre and hosting a Unesco evaluation team is envisaged to take three years, and hasn’t officially started yet.

The Business Chamber has seen the potential for “brand Nelson Mandela Bay”.

The WFA is putting their weight behind the concept because we are convinced it has global significance.

We believe this could be the game-changer Nelson Mandela Bay needs, and the WFA will soon begin stakeholder consultations to gauge if this vision is a shared one.