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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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Table of Contents In Focus World Heritage: cooperation, communication and capacity buildingThe inscription of a site can result in specific preservation challenges, making skilled and sustainable management practices crucial to protect its Outstanding Universal Value. Jiuzhaigou ValleyFrom isolation to ‘smart park’Jiuzhaigou Valley has completed the perfect transition from ...

The issues of World Heritage published during 2012 have largely been devoted to commemorating the adoption of the World Heritage Convention forty years ago, in 1972. This has not been a self-congratulatory exercise but rather an analytical survey, which offers some fascinating insights into the unique contribution that the Convention has made and is still making to global ...

Modern heritage – the architecture, town planning and landscape design of the modern era, or the last two hundred years or so – is still underrepresented on the World Heritage List. And yet it is an integral part of many urban ensembles, which represent a majority of sites on the List. Raising awareness of the significance of this heritage, and addressing issues on its ...

Table of Contents Astronomy and World Heritage Astronomical heritage, or cultural heritage relating to the sky, recognizes the relationships between humanity and the cosmos. From the Maya to the Inca and beyond These ancient cultures confronted their particular vision of the universe. The heritage of Galileo 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first astronomical ...

This year, for its 42nd session, the World Heritage Committee is hosted by Bahrain in its capital city of Manama. Bahrain has long dedicated its support to the World Heritage Convention, and already chaired the Committee for its 35th session in 2011, at UNESCO Headquarters. Bahrain is also home to the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage, a Category 2 Centre working ...

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 ...

This issue of World Heritage is devoted to a number of truly extraordinary World Heritage sites that allow a better understanding of the history of the Earth and the formation of landscape. It is no surprise that UNESCO has acknowledged this diversity as the basis of the International Year of Planet Earth, a celebration that concludes in 2009. Representatives of two of the ...

While conflicts continue to inflict damage – much of it intentional – on heritage sites, reconstruction becomes a critical topic for discussion. The recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged sites are complex. They involve questions that go beyond authenticity and integrity. As the architect Jad Tabet says in his introductory article to this issue of World ...

Table of contents Scenic natural beauty How can it be judged The sites inscribed under criterion vii, known commonly as having the “wow” effect, are more than just stunning landscapes, and we take a close look at their unique qualities and conservation challenges. Stories behind superlative scenery The concept of aesthetics is no easier to deal with, being additionally ...

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 ...

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 ...

It is a great pleasure for me to share this 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention celebration with you. Over the past five decades, the World Heritage Convention has protected and promoted humanity’s treasures and transformed the way we value and safeguard heritage. In this issue we look at a few key sites that have marked turning points for the Convention, ...

The illicit trafficking of cultural objects depletes cultures of their identity and contributes to lucrative unlawful trade, which helps to finance terrorism and organized crime. It is a problem that has been growing surreptitiously across the globe. As just one example, since 2011, approximately 25 per cent of Syria’s archaeological sites have been pillaged. Objects from ...

Table of contents In focus Fostering resilience: Towards reducing disaster risks to World Heritage, p. 4World Heritage sites are exposed to a wide variety of natural and human-induced hazards, such as earthquakes, cyclones or fires, which can have devastating effects on their value as well as on the lives and assets of the communities concerned. Post-disaster ...

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are islands of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The UNESCO World Heritage Programme for Small Island Developing States coordinates and develops activities in these areas, providing support for the preparation of new nominations to the World Heritage List, and conservation and management assistance for ...

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 ...

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, ...