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1.
Ramsar sites refer to sites listed on the List of Wetlands of International Importance, also known as the Ramsar List. These sites are designated because they meet the Criteria for identifying Wetlands of International Importance. The first criterion refers to Sites containing representative, rare or unique wetland types, and the other eight cover Sites of international ...
2.
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. ...
3.
The World Heritage Committee relies on citizens to play an active role in protecting World Heritage sites. If you have any concern about an existing site, do not hesitate to contact the National Commission of the country in charge of the site. To see the contact details of the National Commission, click on the name of the country in the list of States Parties. You may also ...
4.
A site goes through a nomination process before being considered for inscription by the World Heritage Committee. A site can be proposed for inscription only by the country in which the property is located.
5.
The site is the property of the country on whose territory it is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to protect the site for future generations. Its protection and preservation becomes a concern of the international World Heritage community as a whole.
6.
Refers to a decision taken by the World Heritage Committee on whether a site should be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Once a site has been nominated and evaluated, it is up to the intergovernmental World Heritage Committee to make the final decision on its inscription. Once a year, the Committee meets to decide which sites will be inscribed on the World Heritage ...
7.
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
8.
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 ...
9.
There are 10 criteria for the nomination of World Heritage Sites. Click here to see them in detail.
10.
A nominated property is independently evaluated by two Advisory Bodies mandated by the World Heritage Convention: the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which respectively provide the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of cultural and of natural sites nominated. The third Advisory Body ...
11.
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 ...
12.
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 ...
13.
Countries (or States Parties) submit nomination proposals to the World Heritage Committee. If the Committee determines, based on the recommendations of its Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS and IUCN), that the nomination meets at least one of the necessary criteria, then the property proposed by the State Party is inscribed on the World Heritage List. In general, the Committee adds ...
14.
Every year, thousands of volunteers participate in restoration and research projects at World Heritage sites around the globe. Innumerable opportunities exist for volunteers to focus their efforts on helping environmental watchdogs, nature conservationists or architectural restorers at sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, as well as assisting researchers with ...
15.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is not a photobank.
The photos that appear on the World Heritage website, in the photo galleries for each World Heritage site, were generously donated by photographers to help raise awareness of the importance of the World Heritage Convention. They are for educational use, but not for commercial distribution.
Therefore, these photos are not ...
16.
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 ...
17.
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.
18.
Once a country signs the World Heritage Convention, and has sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, the resulting prestige often helps raise awareness among citizens and governments for heritage preservation. Greater awareness leads to a general rise in the level of the protection and conservation given to heritage properties. A country may also receive financial ...
19.
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.
20.
Interpretation refers to the full range of potential activities intended to heighten public awareness and enhance understanding of cultural heritage site. These can include print and electronic publications, public lectures, on-site and directly related off-site installations, educational programmes, community activities, and ongoing research, training, and evaluation of ...
21.
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 ...
22.
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 ...
23.
An Internationally Designated Area (IDA) is an area accorded international protection status through their recognition and designation under a recognised global or regional designation mechanism.
Source(s): Managing MIDAs Harmonising the management of Multi-Internationally Designated Areas: Ramsar Sites, World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and UNESCO Global Geoparks. ...
24.
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 ...
26.
Once a country signs the World Heritage Convention, and has sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, the resulting prestige often helps raise awareness among citizens and governments for heritage preservation. Greater awareness leads to a general rise in the level of the protection and conservation given to heritage properties. A country may also receive financial ...
27.
Features are the physical, biological or geological components or manifestations of a site that together contribute to its OUV.
For example, wetlands may be a feature of a larger management area. But within a wetland there may be features such as pools, wet scrub, bogs, reed marsh and so on. Colonies of a particular bird species may be a feature of a cliff; communities of ...
28.
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 ...
29.
The professionals with direct responsibilities for heritage conservation and management of World Heritage properties.
30.
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 ...
31.
Refers to those who are actively engaged in activities relating to heritage, for example academics, site managers etc.
32.
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 ...
33.
According to Paragraph 217 of the Operational Guidelines, States Parties “[…] are encouraged to raise awareness of the need to preserve World Heritage. In particular, they should ensure that World Heritage status is adequately marked and promoted on-site".
Paragraph 218 of the Operational Guidelines states:
“The Secretariat provides assistance to States Parties in ...
34.
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 ...
35.
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.
36.
The UNESCO World Heritage Review is a glossy, colour, quarterly publication featuring in-depth articles and news on World Heritage sites with maps and striking photographs.
37.
The World Heritage Fund is used to provide international assistance to States Parties in the following areas: preparatory assistance for the nomination of sites, training activities, technical cooperation, emergency assistance, or promotional and educational activities.
38.
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 ...
39.
UNESCO does not purchase photographs from private individuals, professional photographers or agencies.
UNESCO does however, favour partnerships with photographic institutions that promote the World Heritage Convention and the preservation of World Heritage sites.
UNESCO is also happy to accept the generous donations of photographs which are extremely useful in raising ...
40.
Founded in 1946, the International Council of Museums is devoted to the promotion and development of museums and the museum profession at an international level. ICOM is a non-governmental organization with around 17,000 members in 140 countries, many of which have World Heritage sites with museums.
41.
The six topics of the Monitoring Indicator Framework are in accordance with the six core thematic areas of the Periodic Reports:
“I. State of Conservation of World Heritage properties: Indicators to assess temporal patterns in the status and trends of the OUV and factors affecting the property; integrity and authenticity of the site.
II. Management: Indicators to measure ...
42.
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).
43.
If you have a suggestion for a World Heritage site, you may wish to send your proposal to the UNESCO National Commission in the country concerned. To see the contact details of the National Commission, click on the name of the country in the list of States Parties.
44.
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 ...
45.
Monitoring is the continuous process of observing the conditions of a World Heritage property and analyzing the information collected to determine whether its global condition is improving, stable or degrading overtime or in reaction to a specific event/threat. Monitoring allows the World Heritage Committee to accurately assess the conditions at the site-level and decides ...
46.
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 ...
47.
UNESCO is a non-profit intergovernmental organization. Contributions to UNESCO’s World Heritage from states, public institutions, foundations or individuals - are used for projects implemented by experts to protect World Heritage sites around the world. The World Heritage Marketplace is one way for donors to support World Heritage, it matches potential donors and projects ...
48.
International Assistance under the World Heritage Convention is a financial assistance granted to the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, in order to help them protect the cultural or natural heritage sites inscribed on the World Heritage List or on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
For more information, please visit: ...
49.
PACT offers different possibilities for partnerships, notably the adoption or sponsorship of a World Heritage site, support for existing programmes and the development of educational awareness raising as well as support for activities in local and international communities. For more information on current projects and areas of cooperation or how to become a partner in the ...
50.
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 ...
51.
According to Paragraph 123 of the Operational Guidelines;
“Participation of local people in the nomination process is essential to enable them to have a shared responsibility with the State Party in the maintenance of the property. States Parties are encouraged to prepare nominations with the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders, including site managers, local ...
52.
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 ...
53.
‘Communities’ should be understood in the meaning of Article 5 (a) of the World Heritage Convention, which asks each State Party to the Convention "to adopt a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community and to integrate the protection of that heritage into comprehensive planning programmes".
One of the central ...
54.
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 ...
55.
The World Heritage Fund, created in 1972 by the World Heritage Convention, receives most of its income from compulsory contributions from countries (States Parties), and from voluntary contributions. The total received each year is just under US$4 million, a modest sum considering the magnitude of world heritage needs.
Donations are important. Your donation can help make ...
56.
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 ...
57.
”Indicators are measures of the attributes that allow us to determine the quality of a particular attribute, whether the condition of the attribute is within acceptable limits, and whether there are trends or changes such as uphill expansion, increased woodland mortality, etc.”
“Indicators in a woodland might include the proportion of dead to live timber; the amount of ...
58.
Launched in 1994 at the grassroots level by the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, this Project gives young people a chance to voice their concerns and to become involved in the protection of the world’s natural and cultural heritage.
The World Heritage in Young Hands education kit includes student activities and ...
59.
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 ...
60.
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 ...
61.
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 ...
62.
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 ...
63.
The Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted at The Hague (Netherlands) in 1954 in the wake of massive destruction of cultural heritage during the Second World War. It is the first international treaty with a worldwide vocation focusing exclusively on the protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed ...
64.
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 ...
65.
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 ...
66.
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 ...
67.
Articles 10-14 of the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. These articles say that the State Party may request the granting of enhanced protection for cultural property considered to be of “the greatest importance for humanity,” provided that it is already “protected by adequate domestic ...
68.
Three international non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations are named in the Convention to advise the Committee in its deliberations.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international, non-governmental organization that provides the World Heritage Committee with technical evaluations of natural heritage properties and, through its ...
69.
The full cycle of activities from nomination to management and decision-making conducted with regard to the World Heritage properties stipulated under the World Heritage Convention.
Heritage processes include national and international protection processes for the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural ...
70.
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 ...
71.
Adaptation to climate change refers to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) was held in Rio de Janeiro and resulted in the establishment of the UN Framework ...
72.
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 ...
73.
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 ...
74.
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 ...
75.
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, ...
76.
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This website and its content is protected by international law. Any republication, online or in ...
77.
Biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Each reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.
Biosphere reserves are ‘Science for Sustainability support sites’ – special places for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between ...