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WorldHeritageSite
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AWorldHeritageSiteisalandmarkwhichhasbeenofficially
recognizedbytheUnitedNations,specificallybytheUnitedNations
Educational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization(UNESCO).Sitesare
selectedonthebasisofhavingcultural,historical,scientificorsome
otherformofsignificance,andtheyarelegallyprotectedby
internationaltreaties.UNESCOregardsthesesitesasbeingimportantto
thecollectiveinterestsofhumanity.

Morespecifically,aWorldHeritageSiteisanalreadyclassified
landmark,whichbywayofbeinguniqueinsomerespectasa
geographicallyandhistoricallyidentifiablepieceisofspecialculturalor
physicalsignificance(suchaseitherduetohostinganancientruinsor
somehistoricalstructure,building,city,complex,desert,forest,island,
LogooftheUnitedNations
lake,monument,ormountain)andsymbolizesaremarkablefootprintof
Educational,ScientificandCultural
extremehumanendeavouroftencoupledwithsomeactofindisputable
Organization(UNESCO)World
accomplishmentofhumanitywhichthenservesasasurvivingevidence
HeritageCommittee
ofitsintellectualexistenceontheplanet.Withtheintentofitspractical
conservationforposterity,whichotherwisecouldbesubjecttoriskfrom
humanoranimaltrespassing,owingtounmonitored/uncontrolled/unrestrictedaccessorthreatowingtolocal
administrativenegligence,sitesarelistedanddemarcatedbyUNESCOtohavebeenidentifiedorrecognisedas
aprotectedzone.[1]ThelistismaintainedbytheinternationalWorldHeritageProgrammeadministeredbythe
UNESCOWorldHeritageCommittee,composedof21UNESCOmemberstateswhichareelectedbytheUN
GeneralAssembly.[2]

Theprogrammecatalogues,names,andconservessitesofoutstandingculturalornaturalimportancetothe
commoncultureandheritageofhumanity.Undercertainconditions,listedsitescanobtainfundsfromthe
WorldHeritageFund.TheprogramwasfoundedwiththeConventionConcerningtheProtectionoftheWorld's
CulturalandNaturalHeritage,[3]whichwasadoptedbytheGeneralConferenceofUNESCOon16November
1972.Sincethen,192statepartieshaveratifiedtheconvention,makingitoneofthemostadheredto
internationalinstruments.

AsofJuly2016,1052sitesarelisted:814cultural,203natural,and35mixedproperties,in165states.[4][5]
Accordingtothesitesrankedbycountry,ItalyishometothegreatestnumberofWorldHeritageSiteswith51
sites,followedbyChina(50),Spain(45),France(42),Germany(41),India(35),Mexico(34)andUnited
KingdomandBritishOverseasTerritories(30).

Contents
1 History
1.1 Conventionandbackground
2 Nominatingprocess
3 Selectioncriteria
3.1 Culturalcriteria
3.2 Naturalcriteria
3.3 Legalstatusofdesignatedsites
4 Statistics
5 Criticism
6 Seealso
7 References
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8 Externallinks

History
In1954,thegovernmentofEgyptdecidedtobuildthenew
AswanHighDam,whoseresultingfuturereservoirwould ConventionconcerningtheProtection
eventuallyinundatealargestretchoftheNilevalley oftheWorld'sCulturalandNatural
containingculturaltreasuresofancientEgyptandancient Heritage
Nubia.In1959,thegovernmentsofEgyptandSudan
Signed 16November1972
requestedUNESCOtoassisttheircountriestoprotectand
rescuetheendangeredmonumentsandsites.In1960,the Location Paris,France
DirectorGeneralofUNESCOlaunchedanappealtothe Effective 17December1975
MemberStatesforanInternationalCampaigntoSavethe
Condition 20ratifications
MonumentsofNubia.[6]Thisappealresultedinthe
excavationandrecordingofhundredsofsites,therecovery Ratifiers 192 (188UNmemberstatesplustheCook
ofthousandsofobjects,aswellasthesalvageandrelocation Islands,theHolySee,Niue,andPalestine)
tohighergroundofanumberofimportanttemples,themost Depositary DirectorGeneraloftheUnitedNations
famousofwhicharethetemplecomplexesofAbuSimbel Educational,ScientificandCultural
andPhilae.Thecampaign,whichendedin1980,was
Organization
consideredacompleteandspectacularsuccess.Astokensof
itsgratitudetocountrieswhichespeciallycontributedtothe Languages Arabic,English,French,Russian,and
campaign'ssuccess,Egyptdonatedfourtemples:theTemple Spanish
ofDendurwasmovedtotheMetropolitanMuseumofArtin
NewYorkCity,theTempleofDebodwasmovedtotheParquedelOesteinMadrid,theTempleofTaffehwas
movedtotheRijksmuseumvanOudhedenintheNetherlands,andtheTempleofEllesyiatoMuseoEgizioin
Turin.[7]

TheprojectcostUS$80million,about$40millionofwhichwascollectedfrom50countries.Theproject's
successledtoothersafeguardingcampaigns:savingVeniceanditslagooninItaly,theruinsofMohenjodaroin
Pakistan,andtheBorobodurTempleCompoundsinIndonesia.UNESCOtheninitiated,withtheInternational
CouncilonMonumentsandSites,adraftconventiontoprotectthecommonculturalheritageofhumanity.

Conventionandbackground

TheUnitedStatesinitiatedtheideaofculturalconservationwithnatureconservation.TheWhiteHouse
conferencein1965calledfora"WorldHeritageTrust"topreserve"theworld'ssuperbnaturalandscenicareas
andhistoricsitesforthepresentandthefutureoftheentireworldcitizenry".TheInternationalUnionfor
ConservationofNaturedevelopedsimilarproposalsin1968,andtheywerepresentedin1972totheUnited
NationsConferenceontheHumanEnvironmentinStockholm.UndertheWorldHeritageCommittee,signatory
countriesarerequiredtoproduceandsubmitperiodicdatareportingprovidingtheWorldHeritageCommittee
withanoverviewofeachparticipatingnation'simplementationoftheWorldHeritageConventionanda
"snapshot"ofcurrentconditionsatWorldHeritageproperties.

Asingletextwasagreedonbyallparties,andthe"ConventionConcerningtheProtectionoftheWorldCultural
andNaturalHeritage"wasadoptedbytheGeneralConferenceofUNESCOon16November1972.

TheConventioncameintoforceon17December1975.AsofJune2016,ithasbeenratifiedby192states,
including188UNmemberstatesplustheCookIslands,theHolySee,Niue,andthePalestinianterritories.[8]

Nominatingprocess

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AcountrymustfirstlistitssignificantculturalandnaturalsitestheresultiscalledtheTentativeList.Acountry
maynotnominatesitesthathavenotbeenfirstincludedontheTentativeList.Next,itcanplacesitesselected
fromthatlistintoaNominationFile.

TheNominationFileisevaluatedbytheInternationalCouncilonMonumentsandSitesandtheWorld
ConservationUnion.ThesebodiesthenmaketheirrecommendationstotheWorldHeritageCommittee.The
CommitteemeetsonceperyeartodeterminewhetherornottoinscribeeachnominatedpropertyontheWorld
HeritageListandsometimesdefersthedecisiontorequestmoreinformationfromthecountrywhichnominated
thesite.Therearetenselectioncriteriaasitemustmeetatleastoneofthemtobeincludedonthelist.

Selectioncriteria
Upto2004,thereweresixcriteriaforculturalheritageandfourcriteriafornaturalheritage.In2005,thiswas
modifiedsothatthereisnowonlyonesetoftencriteria.Nominatedsitesmustbeof"outstandinguniversal
value"andmeetatleastoneofthetencriteria.[9]

Culturalcriteria
I."representsamasterpieceofhumancreativegeniusand
culturalsignificance"
II."exhibitsanimportantinterchangeofhumanvalues,overa
spanoftime,orwithinaculturalareaoftheworld,on
developmentsinarchitectureortechnology,monumental
arts,townplanning,orlandscapedesign"
III."tobearauniqueoratleastexceptionaltestimonytoa
culturaltraditionortoacivilizationwhichislivingorwhich
hasdisappeared"
IV."isanoutstandingexampleofatypeofbuilding, Site#252:TajMahal,anexampleof
architectural,ortechnologicalensembleorlandscapewhich culturalheritagesite
illustratesasignificantstageinhumanhistory"
V."isanoutstandingexampleofatraditionalhumansettlement,
landuse,orseausewhichisrepresentativeofaculture,orhumaninteractionwiththeenvironment
especiallywhenithasbecomevulnerableundertheimpactofirreversiblechange"
VI."isdirectlyortangiblyassociatedwitheventsorlivingtraditions,withideas,orwithbeliefs,withartistic
andliteraryworksofoutstandinguniversalsignificance"

[10]

Naturalcriteria

VII."containssuperlativenaturalphenomenaorareasof
exceptionalnaturalbeautyandaestheticimportance"
VIII."isanoutstandingexamplerepresentingmajorstagesof
Earth'shistory,includingtherecordoflife,significanton
goinggeologicalprocessesinthedevelopmentoflandforms,
orsignificantgeomorphicorphysiographicfeatures"
IX."isanoutstandingexamplerepresentingsignificantongoing
ecologicalandbiologicalprocessesintheevolutionand
developmentofterrestrial,freshwater,coastalandmarine
ecosystems,andcommunitiesofplantsandanimals"
X."containsthemostimportantandsignificantnaturalhabitats Site#156:SerengetiNationalPark,an
forinsituconservationofbiologicaldiversity,including exampleofnaturalheritagesite
thosecontainingthreatenedspeciesofoutstandinguniversal
valuefromthepointofviewofscienceorconservation"

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Legalstatusofdesignatedsites

UNESCOdesignationasaWorldHeritageSiteprovidesprima
facieevidencethatsuchculturallysensitivesitesarelegally
protectedpursuanttotheLawofWar,undertheGeneva
Convention,itsarticles,protocolsandcustoms,togetherwithother
treatiesincludingtheHagueConventionfortheProtectionof
CulturalPropertyintheEventofArmedConflictandinternational
law.

Thus,theGenevaConventiontreatypromulgates: Site#274:HistoricSanctuaryofMachu
Picchu,anexampleofmixedheritagesite
"Article53.PROTECTIONOFCULTURALOBJECTSANDOF
PLACESOFWORSHIP.WithoutprejudicetotheprovisionsoftheHagueConventionfortheProtectionof
CulturalPropertyintheEventofArmedConflictof14May1954,'andofotherrelevantinternational
instruments,itisprohibited:[11]

(a)Tocommitanyactsofhostilitydirectedagainstthehistoricmonuments,worksofartorplacesof
worshipwhichconstitutetheculturalorspiritualheritageofpeoples
(b)Tousesuchobjectsinsupportofthemilitaryeffort
(c)Tomakesuchobjectstheobjectofreprisals."

Statistics
Thereare1,052WorldHeritageSiteslocatedin165StatesParty.
Ofthese,814arecultural,203arenaturaland35aremixed
properties.TheWorldHeritageCommitteehasdividedtheworld
intofivegeographiczoneswhichitcallsregions:Africa,Arab
States,AsiaandthePacific,EuropeandNorthAmerica,andLatin
AmericaandtheCaribbean.

RussiaandtheCaucasusstatesareclassifiedasEuropean,while
MexicoandtheCaribbeanareclassifiedasbelongingtotheLatin
America&Caribbeanzone,despitetheirlocationinNorth
America.TheUNESCOgeographiczonesalsogivegreater
emphasisonadministrative,ratherthangeographicassociations. ThecenterofBardejovinSlovakiaan
Hence,GoughIsland,locatedintheSouthAtlantic,ispartofthe exampleofculturalheritagesite
Europe&NorthAmericaregionbecausethegovernmentofthe
UnitedKingdomnominatedthesite.

Thetablebelowincludesabreakdownofthesitesaccordingtothesezonesandtheirclassification:[12][13]

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Zone/region Cultural Natural Mixed Total


Europeand
North 426 63 10 499
America
Asiaandthe
173 62 12 247
Pacific
LatinAmerica
andthe 96 37 5 138
Caribbean
Africa 48 37 5 90
ArabStates 73 5 3 81
Subtotal 816 204 35 1055
lessduplicates* 2 1 0 3
Total 814 203 35 1052

*Becausemanysitesbelongtomorethanonecountry,duplicatesexistwhencountingthembycountryand
withinaregion.

Criticism
DespitethemyriaddocumentedpositiveimpactsthatWorldHeritagelistinghasprovidedintermsof
promotingconservation,theUNESCOadministeredprojecthasalsoattractedcriticismforunderrepresentation
ofheritagesitesoutsideEuropeanddisputeddecisionsonsiteinclusion.[14]Asizablelobbyingindustryhas
grownaroundtheawardsWorldHeritagelistinghasthepotentialtosignificantlyincreaselucrativetourism
revenuestoselectedsites.Sitelistingbidsareoftenlengthyandcostlyputtingpoorercountriesata
disadvantage.EritreaseekingtopromotethemodernistarchitectureofAsmarareflectsonesuchexample.[15]

In2016mediareportshighlightedthattheAustralianGovernmenthadactivelylobbiedtohavecriticismof
GreatBarrierReefconservationeffortsremovedfromaUNESCOreporttitled'WorldHeritageandTourismin
aChangingClimate'.TheAustralianGovernment'sactionswereinresponsetoconcernsaboutthenegative
impactthatanatrisklabelcouldhaveontourismrevenuesatapreviouslydesignatedUNESCOWorld
Heritagesite.[16][17]

Seealso
Listofconservationarticles
ListsofWorldHeritageSites
UNESCOIntangibleCulturalHeritageLists
GoUNESCO

References
1."WorldHeritage".
2."TheWorldHeritageCommittee".UNESCOWorldHeritageSite.Retrieved14October2006.
3.ConventionConcerningtheProtectionofWorld'sCulturalandNaturalHeritage(http://whc.unesco.org/archive/conve
ntionen.pdf)
4.WorldHeritageList(http://whc.unesco.org/en/list//en/news/1049/en/list),UNESCOWorldHeritageSitesofficial
sites.
5.SitesinGermanyandItalybringto19thenumberofsitesinscribedontheWorldHeritageListthisyear(http://whc.
unesco.org/en/news/1049),UNESCOWorldHeritageSitesofficialsites.

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6.MonumentsofNubiaInternationalCampaigntoSavetheMonumentsofNubia(http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/17
2/)WorldHeritageConvention,UNESCO
7.TheRescueofNubianMonumentsandSites(http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/173/),UNESCO
8.ConventionconcerningtheProtectionoftheWorldCulturalandNaturalHeritage:Treatystatus(http://www.unesco.o
rg/eri/la/convention.asp?KO=13055&language=E).
9."CriteriaforSelection".WorldHeritage.Retrieved14October2006.
10."UNESCOWorldHeritage,TheCriteriaforSelection".
11.UNGeneralAssembly(1979)[8June1977]."UNTreatyNo.17512"(PDF).'Volume11251'UN.TreatySeries.
p.27.
12.UNESCOWorldHeritageCentre."WorldHeritageListStatistics".unesco.org.
13.UNESCOWorldHeritageCentre."UNESCOWorldHeritageCentreWorldHeritageList".unesco.org.
14.Vallely,Paul(7November2008)."TheBigQuestion:WhatisaWorldHeritageSite,anddoestheaccolademakea
difference?".TheIndependent.
15."ModernistmasterpiecesinunlikelyAsmara".TheEconomist.20July2016.
16.Slezak,Michael(26May2016)."AustraliascrubbedfromUNclimatechangereportaftergovernmentintervention".
TheGuardian.
17.Hasham,Nicole(17September2015)."Governmentspentatleast$400,000lobbyingagainstGreatBarrierReef
'danger'listing".TheSydneyMorningHerald.

Externallinks
MediarelatedtoWorldHeritageSitesatWikimediaCommons
UNESCOWorldHeritageListtravelguidefromWikivoyage

UNESCOWorldHeritageportal(http://whc.unesco.org)Officialwebsite(English) and(French)
TheWorldHeritageList(http://whc.unesco.org/en/list)OfficialsearchablelistofallInscribedProperties
KMLfileoftheWorldHeritageList(http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/kml)OfficialKMLversionofthelistfor
GoogleEarthandNASAWorldwind
OfficialoverviewoftheWorldHeritageForestProgram(http://whc.unesco.org/en/forests)
ConventionConcerningtheProtectionoftheWorldCulturalandNaturalHeritage(http://whc.unesco.org/en/co
nventiontext)Official1972ConventionTextin7languages
The1972ConventionatLawRef.org(http://lawref.org/HERITAGE/index.html)Fullyindexedand
crosslinkedwithotherdocuments
ProtectedPlanet(http://protectedplanet.net)ViewallnaturalworldheritagesitesintheWorldDatabaseon
ProtectedAreas
WorldHeritageSiteSmithsonianOceanPortal(http://ocean.si.edu/blog/worldheritagegoesmarine)
Timemagazine.TheOscarsoftheEnvironmentUNESCOWorldHeritageSite(http://www.time.com/time/world/art
icle/0,8599,1636166,00.html)
UNESCOchairinICTtodevelopandpromotesustainabletourisminWorldHeritageSites(http://www.unescochair.
usi.ch/)

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