World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection by an international convention administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity".[1]
To be selected, a World Heritage Site is nominated by their host country and determined by the international committee to be a unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable and having a special cultural or physical significance. For example, World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities,[a] deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains or wilderness areas.[5][6]
A World Heritage Site may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humanity, and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet or it might be a place of great natural beauty.[7] As of April 2024, a total of 1,199 World Heritage Sites (933 cultural, 227 natural and 39 mixed cultural and natural properties) exist across 168 countries. With 59 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites; this is followed by China with 57, and France and Germany with 52 each.[8]
The sites are intended for practical conservation for posterity, which otherwise would be subject to risk from human or animal trespassing, unmonitored, uncontrolled or unrestricted access, or threat from local administrative negligence. Sites are demarcated by UNESCO as protected zones.[1] The World Heritage Sites list is maintained by the international World Heritage Program administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 "states parties" that are elected by the United Nations General Assembly, and advised by reviews of international panels of experts in natural or cultural history, and education.[9]
The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture and heritage of humanity. The programme began with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,[10] which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. Since then, 195 states have ratified the convention,[11] making it one of the most widely recognised international agreements and the world's most popular cultural programme.[12] To be considered, the properties must be under some form of state protection or conservation and be nominated by the host member country.
Objectives[edit]
By assigning places as World Heritage Sites, UNESCO wants to help preserve them for future generations. Its motivation is that "heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today" and that both cultural and natural heritage are "irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration".[1] UNESCO's mission with respect to World Heritage consists of eight sub targets. These include encouraging the commitment of countries and local population to World Heritage conservation in various ways, providing emergency assistance for sites in danger, offering technical assistance and professional training, and supporting States Parties' public awareness-building activities.[1]
Being listed as a World Heritage Site can positively affect the site, its environment, and interactions between them. A listed site gains international recognition and legal protection, and can obtain funds from among others the World Heritage Fund to facilitate its conservation under certain conditions.[18] UNESCO reckons the restorations of the following four sites among its success stories: Angkor in Cambodia, the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia, the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Kraków in Poland, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania.[19] Additionally, the local population around a site may benefit from significantly increased tourism revenue.[20] When there are significant interactions between people and the natural environment, these can be recognised as "cultural landscapes".[b]
Nomination process[edit]
A country must first identify its significant cultural and natural sites in a document known as the Tentative List. Next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File, which is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on its Tentative List. The two international bodies make recommendations to the World Heritage Committee for new designations. The Committee meets once a year to determine which nominated properties to add to the World Heritage List; sometimes it defers its decision or requests more information from the country that nominated the site. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one to be included on the list.[21]
Extensions and other modifications[edit]
A country may request to extend or reduce the boundaries, modify the official name, or change the selection criteria of one of its already listed sites. Any proposal for a significant boundary change or to modify the site's selection criteria must be submitted as if it were a new nomination, including first placing it on the Tentative List and then onto the Nomination File.[21]
A request for a minor boundary change, one that does not have a significant impact on the extent of the property or affect its "outstanding universal value", is also evaluated by the advisory bodies before being sent to the committee. Such proposals can be rejected by either the advisory bodies or the Committee if they judge it to be a significant change instead of a minor one.[21] Proposals to change a site's official name are sent directly to the committee.[21]
Criticism[edit]
The UNESCO-administered project has attracted criticism. This was caused by perceived under-representation of heritage sites outside Europe, disputed decisions on site selection and adverse impact of mass tourism on sites unable to manage rapid growth in visitor numbers.[35][36] A large lobbying industry has grown around the awards, because World Heritage listing can significantly increase tourism returns. Site listing bids are often lengthy and costly, putting poorer countries at a disadvantage. Eritrea's efforts to promote Asmara are one example.[37]
In 2016, the Australian government was reported to have successfully lobbied for the World Heritage Site Great Barrier Reef[38] conservation efforts to be removed from a UNESCO report titled "World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate". The Australian government's actions, involving considerable expense for lobbying and visits for diplomats, were in response to their concern about the negative impact that an "at risk" label could have on tourism revenue at a previously designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.[39][40]
In 2021, international scientists recommended UNESCO to put the Great Barrier Reef on the endangered list,[41] as global climate change had caused a further negative state of the corals and water quality.[42] Again, the Australian government campaigned against this, and in July 2021, the World Heritage Committee, made up of diplomatic representatives of 21 countries, ignored UNESCO's assessment, based on studies of scientists, "that the reef was clearly in danger from climate change and so should be placed on the list." According to environmental protection groups, this "decision was a victory for cynical lobbying and [...] Australia, as custodians of the world's biggest coral reef, was now on probation."[43]
Several listed locations, such as Casco Viejo in Panama and Hội An in Vietnam, have struggled to strike a balance between the economic benefits of catering to greatly increased visitor numbers after the recognition and preserving the original culture and local communities.[20][44]
Another criticism is that there is a homogeneity to these sites, which contain similar styles, visitor centres, etc., meaning that a lot of the individuality of these sites has been removed to become more attractive to tourists.[45]
Anthropologist Jasper Chalcraft said that World Heritage recognition often ignores contemporary local usage of certain sites. This leads to conflicts on the local level which can result in the site being damaged. Rock art under world heritage protection at the Tadrart Acacus in Libya have occasionally been intentionally destroyed. Chalcraft links this destruction to Libyan national authorities prioritizing World Heritage status over local sensibilities by limiting access to the sites without consulting with the local population.[46]
UNESCO has also been criticized for alleged geographic bias, racism, and colourism in world heritage inscription. A major chunk of all world heritage inscriptions are located in regions whose populations generally have lighter skin, including Europe, East Asia, and North America.[47][48][49][50]