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Heritage is our legacy from
the past, what we live with
today, and what we pass on
to future generations.
Our cultural and natural
heritage are both
irreplaceable sources of
life and inspiration. Places
as unique and diverse as the
wilds of East Africa’s
Serengeti, the Pyramids of
Egypt, the Great Barrier
Reef in Australia and the
Baroque cathedrals of Latin
America make up our world’s
heritage.
What makes the World
Heritage concept exceptional
is its universal
application. World Heritage
sites belong to all the
peoples of the world,
irrespective of the
territory on which they are
located. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) seeks to encourage
the identification,
protection and preservation
of cultural and natural
heritage around the world
considered to be of
outstanding value to
humanity. This is embodied
in an international treaty
called the Convention
concerning the Protection of
the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage, adopted by
UNESCO in 1972. |
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A UNESCO
World Heritage Site is a
specific site (like forest,
mountains, lake, desert,
monuments, building complex,
city etc) that has been
nominated and confirmed for
inclusion on the list
maintained by the
International World Heritage
Programme being administered
by the UNESCO World Heritage
Committe composed of 21
State Parties (countrie)
that are elected by the
General Assembly of States
Parties for a fixed term and
same as that of the United
Nation Security Council.
The program aims to
catalogue, name and conserve
sites of outstanding
cultural or natural
importance to the common
heritage of humanity. Under
certain conditiond listed
sites can also obtain funds
from the World Heritage
Fund. The programme was
founded with the Convention
Concerning The Protection Of
The World Cultural and
Natural Heritage, which was
adopted by the General
conference of UNESCO on 16
November 1972. Since then,
184 (as of July 2007) State
Provinces have ratified the
Convention. As of 2007, a
total of about
851 states are listed 660
cultural, 166 natural and 25
mixed properties in 142
State Parties. UNESCO,
reference each World
Heritage Site with a unique
identification number, but
new inscriptions often
include previous sites now
listed as part part of
larger descriptions. As a
result, the system of
numbering currently ends
above 1200, even though
there are fewer on the
actual list.
Each World Heritage Site is
the property of the country,
on whose territory the site
is located, but considered
in the interest of the
international community to
preserve each site for
future generations of
humanity. The protection and
conservation of these sites
are a concern of all the
World Heritage Countries. |
