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1.
Cultural heritage is defined in Article 1 of the World Heritage Convention.
'For the purposes of this Convention, the following shall be considered as "cultural heritage";
- monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of ...
2.
The World Heritage Convention defines natural heritage as:
natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of Outstanding Universal Value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view;
geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of ...
3.
Outstanding Universal Value, or ‘OUV’ is described in Paragraph 49 of the Operational Guidelines as: ‘cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the ...
4.
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, ...
5.
According to the Resource Manual 'Preparing World Heritage Nominations', "Attributes are aspects of a property which are associated with or express the Outstanding Universal Value. Attributes can be tangible or intangible. The Operational Guidelines indicate a range of types of attribute which might convey Outstanding Universal Value, including:
form and design;
materials ...
6.
Article 1 of the World Heritage Convention defines cultural heritage as:
monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations, which are of Outstanding Universal Value from the point of view of history, art or science;
groups of buildings: groups of ...
7.
In relation to boundaries for effective protection, paragraphs 99-102 of the Operational Guidelines state:
‘99. The delineation of boundaries is an essential requirement in the establishment of effective protection of nominated properties. Boundaries should be drawn to incorporate all the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value and to ensure the integrity ...
8.
The Justification for inscription is a part of nomination documentation that makes clear why the property is considered to be of “Outstanding Universal Value”. It is comprised of more detailed information to support the text of the proposed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value; the World Heritage criteria under which the property is proposed together with a clearly ...
9.
Authenticity only applies to cultural properties and to the cultural aspects of ‘mixed’ properties. Authenticity can be seen as the link between attributes and Outstanding Universal Value.
According to paragraph 82 of the Operational Guidelines, a World Heritage property ”[] may be understood to meet the conditions of authenticity if their cultural values (as recognized in ...
10.
Buffer zones are clearly delineated area(s) outside a World Heritage property and adjacent to its boundaries which contribute to the protection, conservation, management, integrity, authenticity and sustainability of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. Although buffer zones are not regarded as part of the inscribed property, their boundaries and relevant ...
11.
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 ...
12.
The World Heritage Resource Manual Preparing World Heritage Nominations (2nd edition, UNESCO 2011), draws up some principles concerning boundaries for World Heritage properties:
”the property boundaries must encompass the attributes necessary to meet the condition of integrity, that is a complete and intact set of attributes that convey potential Outstanding Universal ...
13.
World Heritage is the designation for places on earth that are of Outstanding Universal Value to humanity and as such, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.
Source(s): https://whc.unesco.org/en/faq/19
14.
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/.
15.
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.
16.
Attributes, more commonly called features in the case of natural properties, are those elements, processes or features that convey and make manifest the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of a property. Identification and understanding of their interrelationships are crucial to understanding OUV and therefore to ensuring appropriate protection and management mechanisms. ...
17.
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 ...
18.
To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage. The criteria are regularly ...
19.
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 ...
20.
The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international agreement that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. It is based on the premise that certain places on Earth are of outstanding universal value and should therefore form part of the common heritage of humankind. The countries who ratify the Convention ...
21.
Buffer zones are described in The World Heritage Resource Manual Preparing World Heritage Nominations (2nd edition, UNESCO 2011) as follows: ”Every World Heritage property needs protection and management arrangements for activities outside the property, including their immediate setting. Buffer zones are one commonly used means to achieve this protection, conservation and ...
22.
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, ...
23.
World Heritage is the designation for places on Earth that are of outstanding universal value to humanity and as such, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy. Places as diverse and unique as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, the Taj Mahal in India, ...
24.
To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of Outstanding Universal Value and meet at least one of ten criteria, as well as the relevant conditions of integrity and authenticity and requirements for protection and management. The World Heritage criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, ...
25.
The overall goal of the Policy on the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention is to assist States Parties, practitioners, institutions, communities and networks, through appropriate guidance, to harness the potential of World Heritage properties and heritage in general, to contribute to sustainable ...
26.
Presentation is the explanation of a property and its values to the public (visitors and local people) from established, authoritative information sources; as such it is a largely one-way process of communication.
Interpretation, on the other hand, embraces a much wider concept (in fact presentation is just one element of interpretation) which refers to the full range of ...
27.
The concept of Integrity is described in the Operational Guidelines paragraphs 87-95. Integrity applies to both natural and cultural properties, and is defined as a measure of the completeness or intactness of the attributes that convey Outstanding Universal Value.
According to the World Heritage Resource Manual ‘Managing Cultural Heritage’ (UNESCO 2013), the key words to ...
28.
Attributes, more commonly called features in the case of natural properties, are those elements, processes or features that convey and make manifest the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of a property. Identification and understanding of their interrelationships are crucial to understanding OUV and therefore to ensuring appropriate protection and management mechanisms.
...
29.
Reactive Monitoring 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. To this end, the States Parties shall submit specific reports and impact studies each time exceptional circumstances occur or work is undertaken which may have an ...
30.
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 ...
31.
The standard list of threats/factors affecting the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties consists of a series of 14 primary factors, encompassing each a number of secondary factors.
The 14 primary factors are:
Buildings and Development
Transportation Infrastructure
Utilities or Service Infrastructure
Pollution
Biological resource ...
32.
Inscription refers to the act of including or inscribing a property in the World Heritage List. To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of Outstanding Universal Value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.
These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text ...
33.
The Operational Guidelines define cultural landscapes as cultural properties which represent the ‘combined works of nature and of man’ as designated in Article 1 of the Convention (Paragraph 47).
There is no single World Heritage criterion for cultural landscapes and it is conceivable that any of the cultural criteria might be used in justifying the Outstanding Universal ...
34.
The condition of the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is a good guide to the overall state of conservation of a World Heritage property.
The categories of the condition of the attributes can be defined as follows:
Lost: Loss or alteration to most aspects of this attribute has occurred and has caused a major loss of significance of this attribute.
Seriously ...
35.
On 19 November 2015, the 20th General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention adopted a Policy on the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the Convention.
The overall goal of the policy is to assist States Parties, practitioners, institutions, communities and networks, through appropriate guidance, to harness ...
36.
Heritage impact assessments (HIAs) for World Heritage (WH) properties are conducted in order to evaluate effectively the impact of potential development on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of properties. Due to diversity of World Heritage properties and varieties of potential impacts, different assessment tools are to be applied, from the state of the art techniques - ...
37.
"Management systems are described and defined in paragraphs 108-118 of the Operational Guidelines.
Specifically, paragraph 108 states that “Each nominated property should have an appropriate management plan or other documented management system which must specify how the Outstanding Universal Value of a property should be preserved, preferably through participatory ...
38.
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 ...
39.
According to the World Heritage Sustainable Development Policy, the World Heritage Convention promotes environmental sustainability:
“by valuing and conserving places of outstanding natural heritage value, containing exceptional biodiversity, geodiversity or other exceptional natural features, which are essential for human well-being.” (Article 13).
The policy also applies ...
40.
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 ...
41.
Gender Equality as a human right and a development goal is enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights and in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Gender Equality is one of UNESCO’s two global priorities. In this understanding, gender equality refers to the equal rights, responsibilities and ...
42.
A key benefit of ratification, particularly for developing countries, is access to the World Heritage Fund and International Assistance. This is made available to assist States Parties in identifying, preserving and promoting World Heritage sites. Emergency assistance may also be made available for urgent action to repair damage caused by human-made or natural disasters. ...
43.
Following are universities that include specialized study of World Heritage issues. You can consult the Education section of this website to learn how to contact the universities directly for more information.
Africa
Cameroon: Ecole de faune de Garoua/Garoua Wildlife School
United Republic of Tanzania: Mweka College of African Wildlife Management
Asia and the ...
44.
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.
45.
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
46.
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 ...
47.
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without ...
48.
UNESCO Culture Sector is responsible for important conventions and universal declarations, such as the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity which it implements in a number of areas in order to promote intercultural dialogue. The Cultural Heritage Division manages international campaigns and ...
49.
An inventory drawn up by a Member State for the protection of its cultural and natural heritage, including items which, without being of outstanding importance, are inseparable from their environment and contribute to its character.
Source(s): 1972 Recommendation concerning the Protection, at National Level, of the Cultural and Natural Heritage
50.
The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre manages the database of World Heritage properties with natural values.
51.
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions states:
“Cultural diversity” refers to the manifold ways in which the cultures of groups and societies find expression. These expressions are passed on within and among groups and societies. Cultural diversity is made manifest not only through the varied ways in which the ...
52.
The term ‘Historic Urban Landscape’ is defined in Articles 8 and 9 of the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape:
8. The historic urban landscape is the urban area understood as the result of a historic layering of cultural and natural values and attributes, extending beyond the notion of “historic centre” or “ensemble” to include the broader urban context and its ...
53.
The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is a treaty that has become, over the past 40 years, the foremost international legal tool in support of the conservation of the world's cultural and natural heritage. Today, 191 countries (called States Parties) have ratified the Convention, making it an almost universally accepted set of principles and framework of action.
Learn more ...
54.
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.
55.
The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape was adopted on 10 November 2011 by UNESCO General Conference. It outlines the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, which moves beyond the preservation of the physical environment and focuses on the entire human environment with all of its tangible and intangible qualities. It seeks to increase the sustainability of ...
56.
Intangible cultural heritage is the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage. Also called living cultural heritage, it is usually expressed in one of the following forms: oral traditions; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices ...
57.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, a non-governmental organization, was founded in 1965 after the adoption of the Charter of Venice, in order to promote the doctrine and the techniques of conservation. ICOMOS provides the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of properties with cultural values proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List, as well ...
58.
Protected areas that are strictly set aside to protect biodiversity and also possibly geological/geomorphological features, where human visitation, use and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure protection of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring.
Source(s): United ...
59.
The vision of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme is that the world's documentary heritage belongs to all, should be fully preserved and protected for all and, with due recognition of cultural mores and practicalities, should be permanently accessible to all without hindrance.
The mission of the Memory of the World Programme is:
To facilitate preservation, by the ...
60.
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 ...
61.
Historic layering is a mechanism of the historic urban landscape formation. City layers can include such components as urban structures and open spaces, infrastructures, built environment, including elements of cultural practices and economic processes, as well as components supporting social values, diversity and identity of the area, and taking into account ...
62.
On 10 November 2011 UNESCO’s General Conference adopted the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape by acclamation, the first such instrument on the historic environment issued by UNESCO in 35 years.
The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape does not replace existing doctrines or conservation approaches; rather, it is an additional tool to integrate ...
63.
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 ...
64.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, a non-governmental organization, was founded in 1965 after the adoption of the Charter of Venice, in order to promote the doctrine and the techniques of conservation. ICOMOS provides the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of properties with cultural values proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List, as well ...
65.
Disaster is defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources (UNISDR, 2002).
In the Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage manual, the definition of a disaster is extended to ...
66.
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 ...
67.
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 ...
68.
The main goal of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is to safeguard the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.
Such heritage may be manifested in domains such as oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, ...
69.
[The HUL] approach to managing historic urban landscapes is holistic; it integrates the goals of urban heritage conservation and those of social and economic development. This method sees urban heritage as a social, cultural and economic asset for the development of cities. The recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape was adopted on 10 November 2011 by UNESCO’s ...
70.
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 ...
71.
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 ...
72.
On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at a historic UN Summit — officially came into force. They are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
Building on the success of the ...
73.
Presentation is the explanation of a property and its values to the public (visitors and local people) from established, authoritative information sources; as such it is a largely one-way process of communication.
Interpretation, on the other hand, embraces a much wider concept (in fact presentation is just one element of interpretation) which refers to the full range of ...
74.
Intangible cultural heritage is the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. Also called ‘living cultural heritage’, it is usually expressed in one of the following forms: oral traditions; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and ...
75.
The International assistance scheme under the World Heritage Fund deals with the protection of cultural sites (monuments, groups of buildings, historic cities, archaeological sites) and natural sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. Priority is given to the most threatened properties, especially those inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Sites inscribed ...
76.
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 ...
77.
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 ...
78.
With regards to post-conflict recovery, the Policy Document for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention states:
"33. During a conflict and in the post-conflict transition phase, World Heritage properties and their wider settings can make a significant contribution to recovery and socioeconomic ...
79.
What it is: Social meaning given to being a woman or a man. Social characteristics – not biological differences– used to define a woman or a man.
What it does: defines the boundaries of what women and men can and should be and do. Shapes and determines the behaviour, roles, expectations, and entitlements of women and men. Provides rules, norms, customs, and ...
80.
The 'fostering of peace and security' is one of the three dimensions of sustainable development set out in the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the Policy Document for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention. Paragraphs 28 and 29 of this policy read:
28. Sustainable development and the ...
81.
With regards to conflict prevention, the Policy Document for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention states that:
"States Parties have a critically important role to play in ensuring that the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, including the establishment of the World Heritage List and ...