{"id":164,"date":"2019-06-01T16:57:44","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T06:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldheritagejourney.com\/?p=164"},"modified":"2023-12-18T18:52:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T08:52:08","slug":"world-heritage-questions-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldheritagejourney.com\/world-heritage-questions-answered\/","title":{"rendered":"World Heritage Sites – Your Questions Answered!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although most people have heard of the UNESCO World Heritage List<\/a>, not many people actually know about the process behind it. How are sites selected? How are they maintained? Who pays for it? All of your World Heritage site questions are answered below, so read on for our world heritage question and answer series!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Your<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What is a World Heritage Site?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, a World Heritage Site is a place or landmark that UNESCO (the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) considers to be of Outstanding Universal Value<\/em> to humanity. The definition of “Outstanding Universal Value” is intentionally vague, but it basically means the location has value that cuts across political, religious or ethnic lines. World Heritage Sites can be either a single location (eg one building or national park), or it can cover multiple locations (eg a group of similar buildings). Sites are classified as either Cultural heritage, Natural heritage, or a Mixed heritage site (which has Cultural and Natural aspects). Sites can also span countries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kakadu
Australia’s Kakadu National Park, a Mixed World Heritage site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How many World Heritage Sites are there?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of early 2020, there are 1121 World Heritage Sites. These sites are spread across 167 countries and six continents – there aren’t any in Antarctica (yet!). 869 sites are Cultural, 213 are Natural, and 39 are Mixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are World Heritage Sites judged?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are ten criteria that UNESCO uses to judge a site. These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. A masterpiece of human creative genius and cultural significance<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. An important interchange of human values over a span of time<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. A unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. An outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble which represents a significant stage in history<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. An outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use or sea-use<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Directly associated with events or living traditions, ideas or beliefs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. An outstanding example representing major stages of Earth’s history<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. An outstanding example representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in evolution<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Criteria 1-6 apply to Cultural sites, while Criteria 7-10 apply to Natural sites. All 10 Criteria apply to Mixed World Heritage sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How does a site get added to the World Heritage list?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The process is quite long, expensive and time-consuming. It starts with each national government – they put forward places and landmarks they believe are worthy of inclusion on the list. This is accompanied by a large dossier explaining the area covered, why they believe it should be include, and which of the above criteria the potential site meets. It then gets added to the Tentative World Heritage List<\/a>. As of mid-2019, this has over 1700 entries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once on the Tentative list, a site is then Nominated for consideration at the yearly World Heritage Committee meeting (typically held in June). Countries are generally only allowed to nominate one site per year for consideration. Independent assessments of each Nominee site are carried out by the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)<\/a>, and\/or the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, at the annual Committee meeting, a vote is taken among the 15 members for whether to Inscribe, Defer, or Reject each Nominated site. Members usually vote in line with the recommendations from ICOMOS or IUCN, though politics sometimes plays a factor! Around 20-25 Nominated sites make it through the process and get added to the official List each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Naumburg
    Naumburg Cathedral in Germany: added in 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    That sounds like a lot! What’s the benefit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Being on the World Heritage list brings quite a few benefits! In addition to increased tourism, it also classes the Site as a landmark under the Geneva Convention, (theoretically) preventing it from looting and damage in times of war and civil unrest. It also provides a lot of prestige to a country, announcing its accomplishments to the entire world. But it can also bring drawbacks too, particularly the risks of over-tourism and climate change. Some city-centre sites like Liverpool (UK)<\/a> and Vienna (Austria)<\/a> have also found it difficult to strike a balance between new development and heritage requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What were the first World Heritage sites?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    In 1978, the first meeting of the World Heritage Committee inscribed twelve sites. These were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n