States Parties have an obligation to regularly prepare reports about the state of conservation and the various protection measures put in place at their sites. These reports allow the World Heritage Committee to assess the conditions at the sites and, eventually, to decide on the necessity of adopting specific measures to resolve recurrent problems. One of such measures could be the inscription of a property on the List of World Heritage in Danger. States Parties to the World Heritage Convention have to provide, in accordance with Article 29 of the Convention, periodic reports on the application of the Convention and the state of conservation of World Heritage properties.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/118/
The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance.
Source(s): https://ich.unesco.org/en/purpose-of-the-lists-00807
Within the prevailing interest in climate change and disaster risk reduction, the term ‘resilience’ is used in reference to “the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions” (UNISDR, 2009).
Source(s): https://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology
“The human, financial and intellectual inputs that create operational capacity and facilitate processes”.
Source(s): World Heritage Resource Manual, Managing Cultural World Heritage
A human rights-based approach is a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of development problems and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress.
According to the Policy on the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the processes of the World Heritage Convention, states should Adopt a rights-based approach, which promotes World Heritage properties as exemplary places for the application of the highest standards for the respect and realization of human rights.
Source(s):
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
According to the manual 'Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage' ''There are three main stages of Disaster Risk Management: before, during and after disasters. The preparedness activities to be undertaken before a disaster include risk assessment, prevention and mitigation measures for specific hazards (maintenance and monitoring, and formulating and implementing various disaster management policies and programmes). Emergency preparedness to be undertaken before a disaster includes measures such as creating an emergency team, an evacuation plan and procedures, warning systems and drills and temporary storage''.
Source(s): Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage
The UNESCO Science Sector with its Division of Ecological Sciences, the Division of Earth Sciences and the Bureau for Coordination of Environmental Programmes, cooperates with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN in executing operational projects concerning natural World Heritage properties, in particular those which are also UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.
“The Second Protocol further elaborates the provisions of the Convention relating to safeguarding of and respect for cultural property and the conduct of hostilities; thereby providing greater protection than before. It creates a new category of enhanced protection for cultural heritage that is particularly important for humankind, enjoys proper legal protection at the national level, and is not used for military purposes. It also specifies the sanctions to be imposed for serious violations with respect to cultural property and defines the conditions in which individual criminal responsibility shall apply. Finally, it establishes a twelve member Intergovernmental Committee to oversee the implementation of the Second Protocol and de facto the Convention”.
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Any World Heritage property that consists of two or more areas which are physically unconnected but related, for example because they belong to the same geological or geomorphologic formation, biogeographic province or ecosystem type, and which together are of OUV; such value would not necessarily exist if its component parts were considered individually (see Operational Guidelines Paragraphs 137–39 for further details).
Source(s): World Heritage Resource Manual 'Managing Natural World Heritage'
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As per Article 8(1) of the World Heritage Convention (or Rule 49 of the Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee), the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention meets during the sessions of the General Conference of UNESCO.
During its session, the General Assembly determines the uniform percentage of contributions to the World Heritage Fund applicable to all States Parties (Article 16(1) of the World Heritage Convention), and elects members to the World Heritage Committee.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/ga
The professionals with direct responsibilities for heritage conservation and management of World Heritage properties.
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Social inclusion is about the processes and outcomes that improve the terms on which people participate in society. People may be excluded from a range of development processes, opportunities, and benefits due to their gender, ethnicity, migrant or refugee status, religion...
Social Inclusion recognizes and addresses these disadvantaged positions with the aim of fostering well-being and shared prosperity.
Contributing to inclusion and equity
To this end, States Parties should commit to and implement policies, interventions, and practices of conservation and management in and around World Heritage properties that achieve the following for all stakeholders, and in particular for local communities:
- Improve the ability, opportunities, and dignity of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status;
- Promote equity, reduce social and economic inequalities and reduce exclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status;
- Recognise, respect, and include the values as well as cultural and environmental place-knowledge of local communities.
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State of Conservation or “SOC” reports are the result of the Reactive Monitoring process, which is the reporting by the Secretariat, other sectors of UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the Committee on the state of conservation of specific World Heritage properties that are under threat. These reports on the state of conservation of selected properties are examined each year by the World Heritage Committee. Since 1979, over 3600 SOC reports were prepared and represent an exceptional documentation on conservation issues; one of the most comprehensive monitoring systems of any international convention.
States Parties are countries which have adhered to the World Heritage Convention. They thereby agree to identify and nominate properties on their national territory to be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List. When a State Party nominates a property, it gives details of how a property is protected and provides a management plan for its upkeep. States Parties are also expected to protect the World Heritage values of the properties inscribed and are encouraged to report periodically on their condition.
Source(s): http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/
For the purpose of management, States Parties prepare a Statement of Outstanding Universal Value which the World Heritage Committee adopts at the time of inscription.
According to the Operational Guidelines, ‘the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value shall be the basis for the future protection and management of the property’.
Statements of OUV aim to provide a clear, shared, understanding of the reasons for World Heritage inscription and of what needs managing in order to sustain OUV for the long term.
Source(s): World Heritage Resource Manual 'Preparing World Heritage Nominations'
States Parties are countries which have adhered to the World Heritage Convention. They identify and nominate sites on their national territory to be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List. States Parties have the responsibility to protect the World Heritage values of the sites inscribed and report periodically on their condition.
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The World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy was requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session (Decision 34 COM 9C) and presented at the 35th Session in 2011.
According to its Mission Statement, “The purpose of this strategy is to provide a framework which favours the development of effective actions and programmes to strengthen or develop capacities of practitioners, institutions, communities and networks for the conservation and management of World Heritage by:
- informing the policies and decisions by the World Heritage Committee in the area of capacity building;
- orienting State Parties and other actors in the World Heritage system in planning, implementing and monitoring capacity building policies and programmes;
- constituting a reference for the wider conservation community and acting as a catalyst for the development of wider cooperation to support capacity building activities for heritage conservation in general.'
The aims of Strategy for Reducing Risks from disasters at World Heritage properties (2007) are to strengthen the protection of World Heritage and contribute to sustainable development by assisting States Parties to the Convention to integrate heritage concerns into national disaster reduction policies and to incorporate concern for disaster reduction within management plans and systems for World Heritage properties in their territories; and to provide guidance to States Parties, the World Heritage Committee, the World Heritage Centre, and the Advisory Bodies to integrate disaster risk reduction into World Heritage strategic planning and management, including the allocation and use of Emergency Assistance under the World Heritage Fund.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2007/whc07-31com-72e.pdf
This adjective is used in diverse ways in the heritage sector and beyond, and sometimes with insufficient attention to the actual intended meaning. Its more elaborate use draws from the environmental science field originally. It goes beyond the concept of viability and living within the limits to also embrace the idea of interconnections among economy, society, and environment and the equitable distribution of resources and opportunities. Its more narrow use indicates the ability to last or continue for a long time, with the words ‘maintainable’ and ‘tenable’ constituting reliable synonyms for ‘sustainable’. In this context ‘sustainability’ is often used in relation to the enduring nature of systems and processes.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (defined by the Brundtland Commission and multilaterally agreed by the UN Conference on Environment and Development – Rio 1992). The question of how to translate this generic ideal into practice has been answered over the years in different ways. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa) introduced the notion of the three pillars of sustainable development, that is the environmental, the social and the economic, considered as “interdependent and mutually reinforcing”. To ensure policy coherence with the 2030 Agenda, this draft policy has adopted the three dimensions of sustainable development from the conceptual framework adopted at the wider UN level, complemented by peace and security (paragraphs 2 and 35 of the 2030 Agenda).
Source(s): http://whc.unesco.org/document/139747
Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities." (United Nations World Tourism Organization)
Source(s):
The World Tourism Organization’s defines sustainable tourism as:
Tourism which makes optimal use of environmental resources that constituting a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, as well as respects the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.
Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
Source(s): http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx0592xPA-TourismPolicyEN.pdf
The World Heritage Committee recognises the benefits of closer coordination and synergies between global conservation instruments (Operational Guidelines Paragraphs 41-44).
The World Heritage Centre reports to the World Heritage Committee annually on synergies with other culture and biodiversity-related Conventions.
For more information, please visit the synergies webpage.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/synergies
The definition of capacity-building identifies three broad areas where capacities reside – practitioners, institutions, and communities and networks – and this is the basis for identifying audiences to target for capacity-building initiatives. This is an approach which brings World Heritage in line with other sectors, for example, the UNDP and the health and food aid sector non-governmental organizations.
The following table connects the three target audiences to learning areas and needs; but there is inevitably substantial overlap.
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Where capacities reside: target audiences for capacity building |
Principal learning areas |
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Practitioners (including individuals and groups who directly intervene in the conservation and management of World Heritage properties) |
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Institutions (including State Party heritage organizations, NGOs, the World Heritage Committee, Advisory Bodies and others institutions that have a responsibility for the enabling environment for management and conservation.) |
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Communities and Networks (including local communities living on or near properties as well as the larger networks that nurture them) |
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The first step a country must take is making an ‘inventory’ of its important natural and cultural heritage sites located within its boundaries. This ‘inventory’ is known as the Tentative List, and provides a forecast of the properties that a State Party may decide to submit for inscription in the next five to ten years and which may be updated at any time. It is an important step since the World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for inscription on the World Heritage List unless the property has already been included on the State Party's Tentative List.
The first step that a country must take towards the inscription of properties under the Convention is to make an ‘inventory’ of important natural and cultural heritage properties located within its boundaries. One output of this ‘inventory’ is a draft list of potential World Heritage properties, known as a Tentative List, which provides a forecast of the properties that a State Party may decide to submit for inscription in the next five to ten years and which may be updated at any time. This is an important step because the World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for inscription on the World Heritage List unless the property has already been included on the State Party’s Tentative List.
States Parties are encouraged to submit their Tentative Lists, properties which they consider to be cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List.
States Parties are encouraged to prepare their Tentative Lists with the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders, including site managers, local and regional governments, local communities, NGOs and other interested parties and partners.
Source(s): Managing Natural World Heritage
According to Article 65 of the Operational Guidelines, “States Parties are encouraged to re-examine and re-submit their Tentative List at least every ten years.”
Source(s): Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention
The Ramsar List is a list of ‘Wetlands of International Importance’ which have been designated by the Parties to the Ramsar Convention as internationally important according to one or more of the criteria that have been adopted by the Conference of the Parties.
Source(s): Glossary of Terms for Negotiators of Multilateral Environmental Agreements
ICOMOS thematic studies: The International Council on Monuments and Sites regularly conducts and publishes thematic studies in the context of the World Heritage Convention. An overview of the publications can be found here.
IUCN thematic studies: the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has undertaken a range of global and regional studies to support State Parties to the World Heritage Convention in the selection of potential sites.
- See IUCN thematic studies
- See also UNEP thematic studies on World Heritage.
Following the development of the Global Strategy for a credible, representative and balanced World Heritage List (1994), ICOMOS and IUCN published analyses on the World Heritage List and Tentative Lists on a regional, chronological, geographical and thematic basis. The scope of the analyses was to provide States Parties with a clear overview of the present situation, and likely trends in the short- to medium-term, with a view to identifying under-represented categories. The publications can be found here:
- Filling the gaps – an Action Plan for the futureby ICOMOS
- The World Heritage List: Future priorities for a credible and complete list of natural and mixed sites by IUCN
- UNESCO’s Global Strategy for a representative, balanced and credible World Heritage List
- World Heritage Resource Manual Preparing World Heritage Nominations (2nd edition, UNESCO 2011)
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Transboundary sites may occur where the features of a site span international boundaries. Transboundary nominations are inscribed as a single property on the World Heritage List, and require joint nomination by the States Parties involved.”
According to the Operational Guidelines, paragraph 134 regarding transboundary properties, 'A nominated property may occur:
- on the territory of a single State Party, or
- on the territory of all concerned States Parties having adjacent borders (transboundary property).'
Source(s):
Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention
Assessing Marine World Heritage from an Ecosystem Perspective
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The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre manages the database of World Heritage properties with natural values.
In various regions of the world capacity building institutions dealing specifically with World Heritage have been established and granted the status of "category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO.
UNESCO Category II Centres (C2Cs) are organizations which operate under the auspices of UNESCO and are committed to engage in support of UNESCO’s strategic programme objectives.
They are funded directly by Member States where they are located. The C2Cs are difficult to characterize in general because they take on different structures. Some are regional in scope while others cover more than one region or are organized around a thematic issue. Many are involved in capacity building and research, while several are set up as foundations or funds to support those activities carried out by other organizations.
For more information please visit: https://whc.unesco.org/en/category2centres/.
Source(s):
The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme was conceived as a way to advance research, training and programme development in all of UNESCO’s fields of competence by building university networks and encouraging inter-university cooperation through the transfer of knowledge across borders. The programme is active in establishing new teaching programmes, generating new ideas through research and reflection, and facilitating the enrichment of existing university programmes while respecting cultural diversity.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2011/whc11-35com-9Be.pdf
The Clubs, Centres and Associations for UNESCO are groups of volunteers of different ages and socio-professional status who become activists in the service of UNESCO’s ideals.
Established under the aegis of the National Commissions for UNESCO, these Clubs, Centres and Associations are grouped into national, regional and international networks, for the purpose of acting in UNESCO’s fields of competence at the grass root level.
Source(s): https://en.unesco.org/node/5999
Not yet drafted
All seven of UNESCO’s Cultural Conventions are intended to safeguard and nurture some aspect of culture and creativity, from tangible and intangible heritage, the diversity of cultural expressions and creative industries, to the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural goods.
- 2005 Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
- 2003 Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
- 2001 Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
- 1972 Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
- 1970 Fighting against the illicit trafficking of cultural property
- 1954 Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
- 1952, 1971 Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
Firmly grounded in a human-rights based approach, these Conventions establish a range of governmental and international funding and cooperation mechanisms, as well as monitoring and evaluation tools. They promote capacity building programmes and other initiatives for the safeguard of culture (including natural heritage) and its integration in national and local development strategies.
By compiling on the Internet the national laws of its Member States, UNESCO offers all stakeholders involved (Governments, customs officials, art dealers, organizations, lawyers, buyers and so forth) a complete and easily accessible source of information. In the event of a legal question about the origin of an object (which may have been stolen, pillaged, or illegally exported, imported or acquired), it is useful to have rapid access to the relevant national laws.
The UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws allows the following to be consulted:
- national laws currently in force related to the protection of the cultural heritage in general
- import/export certificates for cultural property (available on request)
- official or unofficial translations of national laws and certificates
- contact details for the national authorities responsible for the protection of the cultural heritage
- addresses of the official national websites dedicated to the protection of the cultural heritage
The database offers access to national legislation relating to the cultural heritage in general, in other words the laws on the following main categories of heritage:
1. Cultural heritage:tangible cultural heritage: immovable (monuments, archaeological sites), movable (paintings, coins, archaeological objects), underwater (shipwrecks, underwater cities) intangible cultural heritage: oral traditions, performing arts, rituals.
2. Natural heritage: natural sites, physical, biological or geological formations.In 1997, the Division of Earth Sciences at UNESCO introduced the idea of creating a UNESCO Geoparks Programme to protect heritage of international geological significance. In 2000, the European Geoparks Network (EGN) was established. Following a meeting in Paris, this was expanded to a Global Geoparks Network (GGN) in 2004, which was placed under the auspices of UNESCO.
According to Article 2.2 of the Operational Guidelines for UNESCO Global Geoparks,
“UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development… UNESCO Global Geoparks use geological heritage, in connection with all other aspects of that area’s natural and cultural heritage, to enhance awareness and understanding of key issues facing society in the context of the dynamic planet we all live on.”
For more information visit: http://www.unesco.org/geoparks/.
Source(s): http://www.unesco.org/geoparks/
An area which has applied to be designated UNESCO Global Geopark and has entered the official process of evaluation by UNESCO.
For more information visit the Global Geoparks webpage.
Source(s): http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earth-sciences/unesco-global-geoparks
UNESCO’s work with geoparks began in 2001. In 2004, 17 European and 8 Chinese geoparks came together at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to form the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) where national geological heritage initiatives contribute to and benefit from their membership of a global network of exchange and cooperation.
On 17 November 2015, the 195 Member States of UNESCO ratified the creation of a new label, the UNESCO Global Geoparks, during the 38th General Conference of the Organisation. This expresses governmental recognition of the importance of managing outstanding geological sites and landscapes in a holistic manner.
Source(s): http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earth-sciences/unesco-global-geoparks
Launched in 1971, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an Intergovernmental Scientific Programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments.
MAB combines the natural and social sciences, economics and education to improve human livelihoods and the equitable sharing of benefits, and to safeguard natural and managed ecosystems, thus promoting innovative approaches to economic development that are socially and culturally appropriate, and environmentally sustainable.
Find out more about the Man and the Biosphere Programme.
Source(s): http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/
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In 1994, the World Heritage Committee launched the Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List. Its aim is to ensure that the List reflects the world's cultural and natural diversity of outstanding universal value.
By adopting the Global Strategy, the World Heritage Committee wanted to broaden the definition of World Heritage to better reflect the full spectrum of our world’s cultural and natural treasures and to provide a comprehensive framework and operational methodology for implementing the World Heritage Convention.
This new vision goes beyond the narrow definitions of heritage and strives to recognize and protect sites that are outstanding demonstrations of human coexistence with the land as well as human interactions, cultural coexistence, spirituality and creative expression.
Crucial to the Global Strategy are efforts to encourage countries to become States Parties to the Convention, to prepare Tentative Lists and to prepare nominations of properties from categories and regions currently not well-represented on the World Heritage List.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/globalstrategy/
In relation to the nomination of sites for inscription on the World Heritage List, “Upstream processes” include advice, consultation and analysis that occur prior to the submission of a nomination and are aimed at reducing the number of nominations that experience significant problems during the evaluation process. The basic principle of the upstream processes is to enable the Advisory Bodies and the Secretariat to provide support directly to States Parties, throughout the whole process leading up to a possible World Heritage nomination. For the upstream support to be effective, it should ideally be undertaken from the earliest stage in the nomination process, at the moment of the preparation or revision of the States Parties’ Tentative Lists.
Source(s): Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention
Values refer to specific manifestations or qualities of a site that can be considered important to a particular stakeholder group. A site can have multiple values, both natural and cultural, for multiple stakeholder groups. Not all values will necessarily be considered relevant to the OUV.
Source(s): Climate Change Adaptation for Natural World Heritage sites
Revenue generated by tourist or visitor expenditure/ Peter Debrine
Refers to the properties ‘broader setting’, which paragraph 112 of the Operational Guidelines describes as:
“The broader setting, may relate to the property’s topography, natural and built environment, and other elements such as infrastructure, land use patterns, spatial organization, and visual relationships. It may also include related social and cultural practices, economic processes and other intangible dimensions of heritage such as perceptions and associations. Management of the broader setting is related to its role in supporting the Outstanding Universal Value.”
The World Heritage Capacity-Building Strategy (WHCBS) was approved by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session (Paris, 2011) (Decision 35 COM 9B). The Strategy was developed by ICCROM and IUCN in collaboration with ICOMOS, the World Heritage Centre, and other The Capacity Building Strategy is organized according to the “5Cs” that represent the established strategic directions of the World Heritage Convention. The strategy has 9 main goals with principal actions that are recommended in relation to each, and the main audience in terms of practitioners, institutions and communities.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2012/whc12-36com-9B-en.pdf
World Heritage Centre is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Convention and for the administration of the World Heritage Fund.
The World Heritage Centre UNESCO World Heritage Centre is responsible for the day-to-day management of the World Heritage Convention. The Centre, which is based in Paris, is staffed by conservation experts from around the world who coordinate within UNESCO activities relating to World Heritage including management of the Convention, organization of the annual World Heritage Committee meeting, distribution of International Assistance and the coordination of reports, education, information and communication. The World Heritage Centre is the route through which to contact the World Heritage Committee. The Centre is organized into regional teams (the UNESCO regions are: Africa; Arab States; Asia and Pacific; Europe and North America; Latin America and the Caribbean); and a series of specialized cross-cutting themes. The Centre’s website (http://whc.unesco.org) includes a large amount of information of use to World Heritage managers.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/managing-natural-world-heritage/
The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected for terms up to six years. The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, allocates financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund and has the final say on whether a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed sites and decides on the inscription or removal of sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The World Heritage Committee meets annually and consists of representatives from twenty-one of the States Parties to the Convention, who are elected by the General Assembly for terms up to six years.
The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance. It decides whether a property is to be inscribed on the World Heritage List; examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and requests States Parties to take action when properties are not being adequately managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger and the possible deletion of properties from the World Heritage List if deemed necessary.
Individual natural World Heritage properties are most likely to be aware of the Committee’s work through the decisions made at the Committee meeting, which will be conveyed to States Parties and World Heritage sites by the World Heritage Centre. The World Heritage Committee can be contacted through its secretariat, the World Heritage Centre.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/managing-natural-world-heritage/
The World Heritage Convention, adopted in 1972, is a legally binding instrument providing an intergovernmental framework for international cooperation for the identification and conservation of the world's most outstanding natural and cultural properties. The document developed from the merging of two separate movements: the first focusing on the preservation of cultural sites, and the other dealing with the conservation of nature and defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.
It sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. Under the Convention, States Parties are obliged to report regularly to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of their World Heritage properties. These reports are crucial to the work of the Committee as they enable it to assess the conditions of the sites, decide on specific programme needs and resolve recurrent problems.
Source(s): http://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/
The UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, initiated as a UNESCO special project in 1994, gives young people a chance to voice their concerns and to become involved in the protection of our common cultural and natural heritage. It seeks to encourage and enable tomorrow’s decision-makers to participate in heritage conservation and to respond to the continuing threats facing our World Heritage. The idea of involving young people in World Heritage preservation and promotion came as a response to Article 27 of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention).
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/wheducation/
The World Heritage emblem represents the interdependence of the world’s natural and cultural diversity. It is used to identify properties protected by the World Heritage Convention and inscribed on the official World Heritage List, and represents the universal values for which the Convention stands.
Designed by Belgian artist Michel Olyff, it was adopted as the official emblem of the World Heritage Convention in 1978. While the central square symbolizes the results of human skill and inspiration, the circle celebrates the gifts of nature. The emblem is round, like the world, a symbol of global protection for the heritage of all humankind.
Its use is strictly regulated and determined by the World Heritage Committee, with guidelines for its use defined in Chap. VIII + Annex 14 of the Operational Guidelines.
It is protected under the international World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) act.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/emblem/
See ‘National Focal Point’.
The Fund for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of Outstanding Universal Value, called "the World Heritage Fund", was established under Article 15 of the World Heritage Convention. Its resources consist primarily of assessed contributions by the States Parties of the Convention and may be used only for such purposes as the World Heritage Committee shall define.
Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention states:
"Each State Party to this Convention recognizes that the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and
transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage referred to in Articles 1 and 2 and situated on its territory, belongs primarily
to that State ...".
The World Heritage Convention does not specifically define identification. Throughout the Convention reference is made to the "identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage".
Article 5 of the Convention makes reference to a number of "effective and active measures" that can be taken by States Parties in ensuring this "identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission" (UNESCO 1972). Within the Operational Guidelines the identification of properties for potential inclusion in the World Heritage List is referred to as the first step in the process of World Heritage conservation.
Source(s): Glossary of World Heritage Terms related to the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (1996)
One of the main tools of the World Heritage Education Programme, the World Heritage in Young Hands Educational Resource Kit for secondary school teachers was developed in 1998. It aims to sensitize young people to the importance of preserving their local, national and world heritage.
Consult the Resource Kit here.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/educationkit/
The World Heritage List is a list of cultural and natural heritage as defined in Articles 2 and 3 of the World Heritage Convention, deemed to be of 'Outstanding Universal Value'. It is established, updated and published by the World Heritage Committee as per Article 11 of the World Heritage Convention and is drawn from the national inventories referred to in Article 11.1 of the World Heritage Convention.
The World Heritage Resource Manual 'Managing Cultural World Heritage' states 'The World Heritage system requires States Parties to engage in the management of cultural properties in two different and significant stages which form a continuum.
1) A State Party must first demonstrate, as part of the inscription process, how it will manage the Outstanding Universal Value of the property by responding to issues raised in the nomination format and by demonstrating the existence of a management plan, or other management system, that is adequate for protecting the property.
2) After inscription, a State Party must respect its commitment to safeguarding the Outstanding Universal Value of the property through effective long-term management, and through a series of World Heritage procedures which allow this protection to be verified.
Source(s): World Heritage Resource Manual, Managing Cultural World Heritage
A special cooperation agreement existing between World Heritage properties, for example such as exists between two the World Heritage Marine sites, Banc d’Arguin National Park (Mauritania) and the Wadden Sea (Denmark/Germany/The Netherlands).
World Heritage properties are those defined in Articles 1 and 2 of the World Heritage Convention and inscribed on the World Heritage List on the basis of their Outstanding Universal Value, which is fulfilled through meeting one or more of criteria (i)–(x) as explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
World Heritage Resource Manuals are tools available to help States Parties in their implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
Consult the Resource Manuals
If a place has 'World Heritage status', it means that it has been deemed to have Outstanding Universal Value and has been inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Consult the World Heritage List: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/.
The World Network of Biosphere Reserves of the MAB Programme consists of a dynamic and interactive network of sites of excellence. It fosters the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue; knowledge sharing; poverty reduction and human well-being improvements; respect for cultural values and society’s ability to cope with change. The WNBR is one of the main international tools to develop and implement sustainable development approaches in a wide array of contexts.