World Heritage Centre - 40 years

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Celebrating 40 years
of World Heritage
1972-2012

The World Heritage Convention is the most ratified international treaty for cultural and natural heritage preservation in the world. This year, on its 40th anniversary, the World Heritage Convention celebrates sustainable development and the role of local communities.

Events Map

World Heritage Convention Timeline

1972
1975
1978
1992
1994
2002
2007
2012

Adoption

Adoption of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, a unique international treaty linking for the first time the concepts of nature conservation and preservation of cultural properties – recognizing the way people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two.
Ratification

The World Heritage Convention formally takes effect upon ratification by the first 20 States Parties. The List of World Heritage in Danger is created to draw attention to properties needing special international consideration and priority assistance. The World Heritage Fund is established to assist States Parties identify, preserve and promote World Heritage sites through both compulsory and voluntary contributions.
Operational guidelines

The World Heritage Committee develops selection criteria for inscribing properties on the World Heritage List, and draws up Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, setting out among other principles those of monitoring and reporting for properties on the List. Ecuador''s Galápagos Islands becomes the first of twelve sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Cultural landscapes

With 377 sites inscribed in the first twenty years of the Convention, the World Heritage Centre is established to oversee the day-to-day management of the Convention. A new category of sites is added, making the Convention the first legal instrument to recognize and protect cultural landscapes.
Global Strategy

The Committee adopts the Global Strategy for a Balanced, Representative and Credible World Heritage List, aimed at addressing the imbalances on the List between regions of the world, and the types of monuments and periods represented. The Strategy marks the progression from a monumental vision of heritage to a much more people-oriented, multifunctional and global vision of World Heritage. The Nara Document on Authenticity is adopted, recognizing the specific nature of heritage values within each cultural context.
The "4 Cs"

On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Convention, the Committee adopts the Budapest Declaration on World Heritage, inviting all stakeholders to support World Heritage conservation through four key Strategic Objectives (the "4 Cs"): Credibility, Conservation, Capacity-building and Communication. The World Heritage Partners Initiative, known today as PACT, is launched to encourage public-private partnerships and set in place a framework through which a wide range of institutions as well as individuals can contribute to the conservation of World Heritage sites around the world.
...and Community

The World Heritage Committee adds a fifth 'C' – Community – to its Strategic Objectives, highlighting the important role of local communities in preserving World Heritage.
40 years of the Convention

A year of activities, including events, conferences, workshops, exhibits and a targeted communication campaign, celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the adoption of the World Heritage Convention, with a focus on World Heritage and Sustainable Development: the Role of Local Communities.