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Spain, with its long, complex history and the global character of its territorial and cultural extension, remains marked by a striking diversity of historical influences and regional differences, and it justifiably prides itself on the forty Spanish sites currently inscribed on the World Heritage List. Together, they represent a broad range of categories: religious, ...

Initially protected by the broadest expanses of virtually impenetrable tropical rainforest on Earth, Brazil still takes prides in a stunning variety of species found nowhere else. With giant snakes such as the anaconda, minuscule hummingbirds, iridescent blue butterflies, voracious piranhas, the fauna of Brazil seems to haunt the imagination of humanity quite as much as it ...

This edition of World Heritage is devoted to the enduring relationship between a number of World Heritage sites and the indigenous peoples that inhabit them. For historical, cultural and practical reasons this is a complex and sensitive matter, but the very fact that it has become a focus of attention holds great promise for the future. Forty years ago, framers of the ...

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed that the conservation of biodiversity was one of the cornerstones of sustainable development. They acknowledged that the world was facing an unprecedented wave of species extinction and the rapid destruction of ecosystems and decided that it was urgent to halt the global loss of biodiversity in order to ...

In Focus New World Heritage sites 2007 Twenty-two sites were added to the World Heritage List during the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee held in Christchurch, New Zealand, bringing the total of inscribed sites to 851 (p.4) uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park, South Africa (p.20) Vegaøyan, Norway (P.26) Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina (p. 29) ...

Mont Saint-Michel The History of Life La Amistad The Haeinsa Temple Desert Cities And also... Sintra Guatemala's World Heritage News

Water: its role in human evolution. World Heritage sites offer a wide spectrum of water elements, from glorious water gardens to spectacular aqueducts, grand transport canals to ingenious water mills. This display of human creativity and ingenuity reveals the brilliance of our common heritage and the potential for future technological advances. By gaining a deeper ...

Table of Contents In Focus Revising the approach to urban conservation The capacity of historic cities to accommodate and benefit from the radical and rapid changes that accompany urban growth while maintaining heritage values is becoming a critical issue. Towards social inclusion in urban settings More than half of the Earth’s population now lives in urban areas ...

Historic urban walls were once used for division and protection, and remain a legacy of the complex relations between people and their environment. Today, they represent a fascinating aspect of cultural heritage management. They attract visitors and can be considered part of the attempt to balance sustainable social and economic development and the conservation of ...

A number of World Heritage routes have played a significant part in the history of the five continents – and the way we focus on them in this issue illustrates how far our thinking has evolved in the thirty-five years since the World Heritage Convention was drafted and adopted. The initial idea was the logical outgrowth of the need to protect significant monuments ...

This special issue of World Heritage is about interlinkages between nature and culture. One of the defining characteristics of the World Heritage Convention is that the governance of both natural and cultural values of Outstanding Universal Value falls under one international instrument, but we have still to harness the full potential it offers to recognize and build on ...

The World Heritage Convention was created in 1972 – nearly half a century ago – as a legal instrument to protect our most outstanding cultural and natural sites around the world. It has been adopted since by 194 countries, nearing universality. Concretely, the World Heritage Convention is implemented in myriad ways, big and small, by people around the world. In this issue, ...

Traditions, ancestral knowledge and ways of life of local communities are essential elements of World Heritage. In the quest to continue safeguarding and promoting cultural and natural treasures of our humanity, UNESCO recognizes the importance of their active participation in World Heritage preservation and management, ensuring their integrity and authenticity. In this ...

I am particularly pleased that the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. We are very grateful to our generous hosts for organizing this session in a World Heritage city. Baku has always been at the crossroads of cultures. Situated along the western shore of the Caspian Sea, it is part of ancient trade routes from the Central Asian ...

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee is taking place in Istanbul from 10 to 20 July 2016, and we are extremely grateful to Turkey for generously hosting this session. Turkey is a country at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with a diverse heritage of civilizations that have been a cultural and historical influence worldwide. It is home to fifteen World ...

UNESCO's World Heritage is much more than a List of remarkable sites. It represents the common heritage of humanity – a collection of cultural and natural treasures that transcend borders and generations. These sites tell the story of our world, illustrating our diversity, creativity and resilience through the ages. India, a land of millennia of history, is a living ...

In Focus Exploring the Spice Route The Spice Route linked the Mediterranean basin to the Far East for over 2,500 years. (p.6) Trade Routes of the Desert A journey across the desert trails of the empires of antiquity. (p.22) The Routes of Santiago Pilgrims’ itinerary and path of civilization. (p.32) Interview Interview with Dr Sandy Blair Routes from an Australian point ...

It is increasingly recognized that culture has an essential role to play as a driver of sustainable development, contributing to the eradication of poverty and enhancing social inclusion. Culture helps to define people’s identities and determines the way they shape their future. Gender equality, which is a UNESCO priority, refers to the roles and responsibilities of men ...

The 1972 World Heritage Convention is truly unique. It is the only legal instrument conceived to protect both cultural and natural heritage, based on the principle of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) – the value of a site that is irreplaceable and must be protected for the future. Each year, during its annual session, the World Heritage Committee adds new sites to the ...

Cultural World Heritage sites are representative of the creativity and genius of humanity. While World Heritage belongs to everyone, and we share the responsibility to protect it, each site embodies the history, values, beliefs and skills of the people who created it. Whenever a cultural site is destroyed, it is a particularly devastating loss for those who hold the site ...