WH Convention and Operational

Guidelines
World Heritage Convention
 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage, 1972
 Draft of a Convention
 First official international legal instrument
 Shared moral and financial responsibility to protect common cultural
and natural heritage through international cooperation
World Heritage Convention
 The Concept of World Heritage
 Conservation of heritage of outstanding universal value
 Both cultural and natural heritage
 Heritage which is immovable
 Conservation of irreplaceable heritage
 Conservation of World Heritage is dependent on collective
international action
World Heritage Convention
 Nature and Culture intimately linked
 Cultural and Natural Heritage (Article 1 and 2)
 Definitions of the Cultural Heritage
o Monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculptures and
paintings, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions,
cave dwellings, and combination of features, which are of outstanding
universal values from the point of view of history, art or science;
o Groups of Buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which,
because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the
landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view
of history, art or science;
o Sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and of man, and
areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal
value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point
of view
 Cultural Landscapes
 Outstanding interaction between culture and nature recognized
as cultural landscapes since 1992
World Heritage Convention
 WH Conservation Process
I. A country becomes a State Party by signing the WH
Convention and pledging to protect their cultural and
natural heritage
II. A State Party prepares a tentative list of cultural and natural
heritage sites on its territory that it consider to be of
outstanding universal value
III. A State Party selects sites from its tentative list for
nomination to the WH list
World Heritage Convention
 WH Conservation Process
IV. The completed nomination form is sent to the UNESCO
WH Centre
V. The UNESCO WH Centre checks that the nomination is
complete and sends it to IUCN and/or ICOMOS for
evaluation
VI. Experts visit sites to evaluate their protection and
management
VII. ICOMOS and/or IUCN evaluate the nominations using the
cultural and natural heritage criteria
World Heritage Convention
 WH Conservation Process
VIII. ICOMOS and/or IUCN make an evaluation report
IX. The seven member of the WH Bureau review the
nominations and evaluation and make recommendation to
the committee
X. The final decision by the twenty one member WHC
inscribed-deferred-rejected
World Heritage Convention
 WHL-site of outstanding universal value
 The Global Strategy for a representative and balanced WHL
World Heritage Convention
 The World Heritage Conservation Process
o National Protection(state party): identification,
protection, conservation, and transmission to future generation
of the CH
o Adopt a general policy
o Setup institutions with appropriate staffs
o Research
o Take appropriate legal, scientific, technical, administrative and
financial measures necessary for the identification,
preservation.....
World Heritage Convention
 The World Heritage Conservation Process, contd...
o International Protection
o Establishment of a system of international cooperation and
assistance to support state parties to conserve and identify that
heritage
World Heritage Conservation
procedure
 Intergovernmental committee for the Protection of the
World Cultural and Natural Heritage
 World Heritage Centre and UNESCO Secretariat
 World Heritage Bureau (decision are prepared)
 Functions of the committee- identify the WH list
 Inscribed on the List of WH in Danger
 Use and operate the WH Fund
 Educational Program
Operational Guidelines for the
Implementation of the World Heritage
Convention, 1977
 The Guidelines are considered a working tool
 Informing State Parties to the Convention of the Principles
that guides the work of the committee
 Nomination to the WH list
WH Convention
 The cultural and natural heritage is among the priceless and
irreplacable asset, not only of each nation but of humanity as a
whole. The loss, through deterioration or disappearence, of any of
these must prized asset constitues an impoverishment of the
heritage of all the people of the world. Parts of that heritage,
because of their exceptional qualities, can be considered to be of
"OUV" and as such worthy of special protection against the
dangers which increasingly threatens them.
 To ensure proper identification, conservation and preservation of
the world's heritage, the member state of UNESCO adopted WH
Convention in 1972. the convention established WH committee
and WH fund have been in operation since 1976.
List of WH in danger
State Party to the WH Convention-
Article 6.1
 Responsibility to ensre the identification, nomination, protection, conservation,
presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural
heritage found within their territory (Article 4 adn 6)
 Adopt general policy to give the heritage a function in the life of the
community
 Integrate heritage protection into comprehensive planning programs
 Establish service for the protection....
 Take appropriate legal, scientific, techncal, administrative and financial
measures to protect the heritage
 Foster the establishment of center for training (Article 5)
 Submit to the WH Committee an inventory of properties for WHL (Article 11)
 Make regular contribution to the WHF (Article 16)
 Provide information to the WHC on the implementation of the WH
Convention and state of conservation of the property (Article 29)
General Assembly
General Assembly of state party to the World Heritage
Convention (Article 8)
WH Committee
 WH Committee is composed of 21 members (Article 9).....
Main Fuction of The Committee
Secretariat to The WH Committee
(WHC)
 The Secretariat's main tasks (Article 14.2)
Advisory Bodies to The WH Comittees
 ICCROM
 ICOMOS
 IUCN
The World Heritage List
 Definition of the Cultural WH
 Article 1 – For the purpose of this convention the following shall
be considered as cltural heritage
 Monuments-Architectural works, works of monumental sculpture
and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature,
inscriptions, cave dwellings and combination of features which are of
OUV from the point of view of history art or science,
 Group of Buildings- Group of separate or connected buildings which
because of their architecture, their homogenity or their place in the
landscape, are of OUV from the point of view of history, art or
science
 Sites- Woks of man or the combined works of nature and of man and
areas including archaeological sites which are of OUV from the
historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view
OUV
Representative, Balance and Credible
WH List
Tentative List
Operational Guidelines – WH
Convention
 The operational guidelines for the implementation of the WH
Convention aim to facilate the implementation of the
convention by setting forth the procedure for:
 The inscription of properties on the WHL and list of WH in
danger,
 The protection and conservation of WH property,
 The granting of IA under the WHF, and
 The mobilization of national and international support in favour
of the convention
Key User of OG
Criteria for the Assessment of
Outstanding Universal Value
The Committee considers a property as having Outstanding
Universal Value if the property meets one or more of the
following criteria. Nominated properties shall therefore:
 Represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;
 Exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a
span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on
developments in architecture or technology, monumental
arts, town-planning or landscape design;
 Bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a
cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or
which has disappeared;
Criteria for the Assessment of
Outstanding Universal Value
 Be an outstanding example of a type of building,
architectural or technological ensemble or landscape
which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;
 Be an outstanding example of a traditional human
settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of
a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the
environment especially when it has become vulnerable
under the impact of irreversible change;
 Be directly or tangibly associated with events or living
traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and
literary works of outstanding universal significance.
To be deemed of Outstanding Universal Value, a property
must also meet the conditions of integrity and/or
authenticity and must have an adequate protection and
management system to ensure its safeguarding.
Authenticity
 Form and design
 Materials and substance
 Use and function
 Traditions, techniques and management systems
 Location and setting
 Language, and other forms of intangible heritage
 Spirit and feeling; and
 Other internal and external factors
Integrity
 Includes all elements necessary to express its Outstanding
Universal Value
 Is of adequate size to ensure the complete representation of
the features and processes which convey the property's
significance
 Suffers from adverse effects of development and/or neglect
Protection and Management
 Legislative, Regulatory and Contractual Mesures for
Protection
 Boundaries for effective protection
 Buffer Zone
 Management Sustem
Process for theInscription of Properties
on the WHL
 Preparation of Nomination
 Format and Content of Nomination
 Registration of Nomination
 Evaluation of Nomination by the Advisory Body
 Withdrawal of Nomination
 Decision of the WH Committee
- Inscription
- Decision not to inscribe
- Referral of Nomination
- Deferral of Nomination
Process for Monitoring the State of
Conservation WH Properties
 Reactive Monitoring
List of WH in Danger
 Guidelines
 Criteria
 Ascertained Danger
 Potential Danger
Periodic Reporting on theImplementation of
the WH Convention
WH Fund and International Assistance
WH Emblem