In 2018, the UNESCO Office to the Gulf States and Yemen and its partner, Qatar National Library, launched a project aiming at supporting the preservation of documentary heritage in the Arab region. The Arab region is home to a unique and rich documentary heritage subject to risk due to natural decay, conflicts and instability. To support its preservation, this project had for objective to better understand the needs and challenges faced by documentary heritage institutions in the region though a mapping exercise and the dissemination of a survey.

This article outlines the key outcomes of the survey including the situation of documentary heritage at the regional and national level, a brief review of legal frameworks protecting documentary heritage, the main obstacles and threats to documentary heritage preservation and the needs expressed by conservation practitioners in terms of capacity-building, professional development, infrastructure and support in additional areas such as policy and advocacy.