Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your World Heritage Site shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the World Heritage Site offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of World Heritage Site at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a World Heritage Site? Wrong! If the World Heritage Site is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about World Heritage Site then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling World Heritage Site? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about World Heritage Site and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your World Heritage Site wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your World Heritage Site then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the World Heritage Site site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about World Heritage Site, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your World Heritage Site, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
A
UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake,
desert,
monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State Parties (countries) which are elected by the
General Assembly of States Parties for a fixed term.{{cite web].)
The programme aims to catalogue, name, and conserve sites of outstanding
cultural heritage or natural heritage importance to the common heritage of
humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the
Convention Concerning the Protection of 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) States Parties have ratified the convention.
As of 2007, a total of 851 sites are listed: 660 cultural, 166 natural, and 25 mixed properties, in 142 States Parties. UNESCO references each World Heritage Site with a unique identification number; but new inscriptions often include previous sites now listed as part of larger descriptions. As a result, the numbering system 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 it is 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.
{{ImageStackRight], including the
Giza pyramid complex (Egypt). (
Iran). (Sri Lanka). (
United States)., including the ancient Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia (
Greece). (China). of Aït Benhaddou (Morocco). in Yucatán (Mexico). at
Sanchi (
India). and its suburbs (
Russia). (Lithuania)., including the
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (Georgia (country)). (
Portugal). in the mountains of
Ifugao (Philippines). Itsukushima Shrine of Miyajima, Hiroshima (Japan). in a remote region of
Patagonia (
Argentina). Monastery (Armenia).-->
History
Pre-convention
In
1959, the government of Egypt decided to build the
Aswan Dam, an event that would flood a valley containing treasures of ancient civilization such as the Abu Simbel temples. UNESCO then launched a worldwide safeguarding campaign, despite appeals from the governments of Egypt and
Sudan. The Abu Simbel and Philae temples were taken apart, moved to a higher location, and put back together piece-by-piece.
The cost of the project was approximately US $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 different countries. It was widely regarded as a total success, and led to other safeguarding campaigns (saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of
Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the
Borobodur Temple Compounds in
Indonesia). UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a draft convention to protect the common cultural heritage of humanity.
Convention and background
The United States initiated the idea of combining cultural conservation with nature conservation. A White House conference in
1965 called for a
World Heritage Trust to preserve "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry." The
International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in
1968, and they were presented in
1972 to the
United Nations conference on Human Environment in
Stockholm, Sweden.
A single text was ultimately agreed on by all parties involved, and the
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on
16 November 1972.
Nominating process
A country must first take an inventory of all its significant cultural and natural properties. This is called the Tentative List, and is important because a country may not nominate properties that have not already been included on the Tentative List. Next, it can select a property from this list to place into a Nomination File. The World Heritage Centre offers advice and help in preparing this file, which needs to be as comprehensive as possible.
At this point, the file is independently evaluated by two organizations: the
International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. The Committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List, and sometimes defers the decision to request more information from the States Parties. There are ten selection criteria that a site must meet to be included on the list.
Selection criteria
Until the end of 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so that there is only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and meet at least one of the ten criteria.{{cite web|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/|title=Criteria for Selection|publisher=World Heritage|accessdate=2006-10-14-->
Cultural criteria
- I. "to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius";
- II. "to 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";
- III. "to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared";
- IV. "to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history";
- V. "to 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";
- VI. "to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria)";
Natural criteria
- VII. "to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance";
- VIII. "to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features";
- IX. "to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals";
- X. "to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-site conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation."
Statistics
There are currently 851 World Heritage Sites located in 142 State Parties. Of these, 660 are cultural, 166 are natural and 25 are mixed properties. Further site classification includes the classification of the State Parties among five geographic zones: Africa,
Arab States (composed of northern Africa and the
Middle East), Asia-Pacific (includes Australia and
Oceania), Europe and
North America (specifically, United States and
Canada), and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Note that Russia and the Caucasus States are classified as belonging to the Europe and North America zone.
The UNESCO geographic zones also give greater emphasis on administrative, rather than geographic associations. Hence, Gough Island, located in the South Atlantic, is part of the Europe & North America region since it was the United Kingdom which nominated the site.
The countries most having world heritage lists are as follows (as of 2007, among 851 sites); Italy (41), Spain (40), China (35), Germany (32), France (31), and UK (27).
The table below includes a breakdown of the sites according to these zones and their classification:
{]| 33| 38| 3| 74| 9%|-!
Arab States| 45| 126| 11| 182The [Uvs Nuur Basin located in Russia and in Mongolia is here included in Asia-Pacific zone.] & North America & [Caribbean| 34| 80| 3| 117| 14%|}
Lists of World Heritage Sites
World Heritage Committee Session
The World Heritage Committee meets several times a year to discuss measures on the management of existing World Heritage Sites, and accept the nominations from interested countries. A session, known as the World Heritage Committee Session, takes place annually where sites are officially inscribed on the World Heritage List, after presentations made by the IUCN and/or ICOMOS, and deliberations made among the State Parties.
The annual session takes place in various cities all over the world. With the exception of those held in Paris (France), where the UNESCO headquarter office is located, only State Parties who are members of the World Heritage Committee have the right to host a future Session, pending approval by the Committee, as well as provided that the concerned State Party’s term will not expire before it hosts the Session.{| class="wikitable"|- bgcolor=efefef!Session!Year!Date!Host City!State Party|-! 1| 1977|
27 June–
1 July| |-! 2| 1978| [5 September–
8 September| |-! 3| 1979| [22 October–
26 October & [Luxor–[5 September| |-! 5| 1981| [26 October–30 October| |-! 6| 1982| [13 December–17 December| |-! 7| 1983| [5 December–9 December| |-! 8| 1984| [29 October–
2 November| |-! 9| 1985| [2 December–
6 December| |-! 10| 1986| [24 November–
28 November| |-! 11| 1987| [7 December–11 December| |-! 12| 1988| [5 December–
9 December| |-! 13| 1989| [11 December–
15 December| |-! 14| 1990| [7 December–
12 December| |-! 15| 1991| [9 December–13 December| |-! 16| 1992| [7 December–
14 December| |-! 17| 1993| [6 December–
11 December| |-! 18| 1994| [12 December–
17 December| |-! 19| 1995| [4 December–
9 December| |-! 20| 1996| [2 December–7 December| |-! 21| 1997| [1 December–
6 December| |-! 22| 1998| [30 November–5 December| |-! 23| 1999| [29 November–
4 December| |-! 24| 2000| [27 November–2 December| |-! 25| 2001| [11 December–
16 December| |-! 26| 2002| [24 June–
29 June| |-! 27| 2003| [30 June–5 July| |-! 28| 2004| [28 June–
7 July| |-! 29| 2005| [10 July–
17 July| |-! 30| 2006| [8 July–
16 July| |-! 31| 2007| [23 June–1 July| |-! 32| 2008| [2 July-[10 July| |}
See also
Notes
External links
- UNESCO World Heritage portal — Official detailed website in both English and French
- The World Heritage List — Official searchable List of all Inscribed Properties
- KML file of the World Heritage List — Official KML version of the List for Google Earth and NASA Worldwind
- Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage — Official 1972 Convention Text in 7 languages
- Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage at Law-Ref.org — Fully indexed and crosslinked with other documents
- Organization of World Heritage Cities — Dealing with urban sites only
- WHTour.org — World Heritage sites in panographies - 360 degree imaging
- Worldheritage-Forum — Weblog and Information on World Heritage Issues
- UK Government's list of UK World Heritage Sites
- US National Park Service's list of US World Heritage Sites
- Parks Canada's list of Canadian World Heritage Sites
- thesalmons.org's world heritage list — Unofficial list with links and map of sites
- VRheritage.org — Documentation of World Heritage Sites
- whc.kmz — Unofficial and incomplete World Heritage List in Google Earth ( en français)
A
UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain,
lake,
desert, monument, building,
complex, or
city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the
UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State Parties (countries) which are elected by the
General Assembly of States Parties for a fixed term.{{cite web].)
The programme aims to catalogue, name, and conserve sites of outstanding cultural heritage or
natural heritage importance to the common heritage of humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the
Convention Concerning the Protection of 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) States Parties have ratified the convention.
As of 2007, a total of 851 sites are listed: 660 cultural, 166 natural, and 25 mixed properties, in 142 States Parties. UNESCO references each World Heritage Site with a unique identification number; but new inscriptions often include previous sites now listed as part of larger descriptions. As a result, the numbering system 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 it is 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.
{{ImageStackRight], including the
Giza pyramid complex (
Egypt). (
Iran). (Sri Lanka). (United States)., including the ancient Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia (
Greece). (China). of Aït Benhaddou (
Morocco). in Yucatán (Mexico). at Sanchi (India). and its suburbs (
Russia). (
Lithuania)., including the
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (Georgia (country)). (
Portugal). in the mountains of
Ifugao (Philippines). Itsukushima Shrine of
Miyajima, Hiroshima (
Japan). in a remote region of
Patagonia (
Argentina). Monastery (Armenia).-->
History
Pre-convention
In
1959, the government of
Egypt decided to build the Aswan Dam, an event that would flood a valley containing treasures of ancient civilization such as the
Abu Simbel temples. UNESCO then launched a worldwide safeguarding campaign, despite appeals from the governments of Egypt and Sudan. The Abu Simbel and
Philae temples were taken apart, moved to a higher location, and put back together piece-by-piece.
The cost of the project was approximately US $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 different countries. It was widely regarded as a total success, and led to other safeguarding campaigns (saving
Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the
Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia). UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a draft convention to protect the common cultural heritage of humanity.
Convention and background
The
United States initiated the idea of combining cultural conservation with nature conservation. A White House conference in
1965 called for a
World Heritage Trust to preserve "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry." The
International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in
1968, and they were presented in
1972 to the United Nations conference on Human Environment in
Stockholm, Sweden.
A single text was ultimately agreed on by all parties involved, and the
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on
16 November 1972.
Nominating process
A country must first take an inventory of all its significant cultural and natural properties. This is called the Tentative List, and is important because a country may not nominate properties that have not already been included on the Tentative List. Next, it can select a property from this list to place into a Nomination File. The World Heritage Centre offers advice and help in preparing this file, which needs to be as comprehensive as possible.
At this point, the file is independently evaluated by two organizations: the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. The Committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List, and sometimes defers the decision to request more information from the States Parties. There are ten selection criteria that a site must meet to be included on the list.
Selection criteria
Until the end of 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so that there is only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and meet at least one of the ten criteria.{{cite web|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/|title=Criteria for Selection|publisher=World Heritage|accessdate=2006-10-14-->
Cultural criteria
- I. "to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius";
- II. "to 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";
- III. "to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared";
- IV. "to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history";
- V. "to 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";
- VI. "to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria)";
Natural criteria
- VII. "to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance";
- VIII. "to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features";
- IX. "to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals";
- X. "to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-site conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation."
Statistics
There are currently 851 World Heritage Sites located in 142 State Parties. Of these, 660 are cultural, 166 are natural and 25 are mixed properties. Further site classification includes the classification of the State Parties among five geographic zones: Africa, Arab States (composed of northern Africa and the Middle East), Asia-Pacific (includes
Australia and
Oceania), Europe and
North America (specifically,
United States and Canada), and
Latin America and the Caribbean.
Note that Russia and the
Caucasus States are classified as belonging to the Europe and North America zone.
The UNESCO geographic zones also give greater emphasis on administrative, rather than geographic associations. Hence,
Gough Island, located in the South Atlantic, is part of the Europe & North America region since it was the
United Kingdom which nominated the site.
The countries most having world heritage lists are as follows (as of 2007, among 851 sites); Italy (41), Spain (40), China (35), Germany (32), France (31), and UK (27).
The table below includes a breakdown of the sites according to these zones and their classification:
{]| 33| 38| 3| 74| 9%|-! Arab States| 45| 126| 11| 182The [Uvs Nuur Basin located in Russia and in
Mongolia is here included in Asia-Pacific zone.] & North America & [Caribbean| 34| 80| 3| 117| 14%|}
Lists of World Heritage Sites
World Heritage Committee Session
The World Heritage Committee meets several times a year to discuss measures on the management of existing World Heritage Sites, and accept the nominations from interested countries. A session, known as the World Heritage Committee Session, takes place annually where sites are officially inscribed on the World Heritage List, after presentations made by the IUCN and/or ICOMOS, and deliberations made among the State Parties.
The annual session takes place in various cities all over the world. With the exception of those held in Paris (France), where the UNESCO headquarter office is located, only State Parties who are members of the World Heritage Committee have the right to host a future Session, pending approval by the Committee, as well as provided that the concerned State Party’s term will not expire before it hosts the Session.{| class="wikitable"|- bgcolor=efefef!Session!Year!Date!Host City!State Party|-! 1| 1977|
27 June–
1 July| |-! 2| 1978| [5 September–
8 September| |-! 3| 1979| [22 October–
26 October & [Luxor–[5 September| |-! 5| 1981| [26 October–30 October| |-! 6| 1982| [13 December–
17 December| |-! 7| 1983| [5 December–9 December| |-! 8| 1984| [29 October–2 November| |-! 9| 1985| [2 December–6 December| |-! 10| 1986| [24 November–28 November| |-! 11| 1987| [7 December–11 December| |-! 12| 1988| [5 December–
9 December| |-! 13| 1989| [11 December–
15 December| |-! 14| 1990| [7 December–12 December| |-! 15| 1991| [9 December–
13 December| |-! 16| 1992| [7 December–
14 December| |-! 17| 1993| [6 December–11 December| |-! 18| 1994| [12 December–17 December| |-! 19| 1995| [4 December–9 December| |-! 20| 1996| [2 December–7 December| |-! 21| 1997| [1 December–
6 December| |-! 22| 1998| [30 November–
5 December| |-! 23| 1999| [29 November–4 December| |-! 24| 2000| [27 November–
2 December| |-! 25| 2001| [11 December–
16 December| |-! 26| 2002| [24 June–
29 June| |-! 27| 2003| [30 June–5 July| |-! 28| 2004| [28 June–
7 July| |-! 29| 2005| [10 July–17 July| |-! 30| 2006| [8 July–
16 July| |-! 31| 2007| [23 June–
1 July| |-! 32| 2008| [2 July-[10 July| |}
See also
Notes
External links
- UNESCO World Heritage portal — Official detailed website in both English and French
- The World Heritage List — Official searchable List of all Inscribed Properties
- KML file of the World Heritage List — Official KML version of the List for Google Earth and NASA Worldwind
- Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage — Official 1972 Convention Text in 7 languages
- Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage at Law-Ref.org — Fully indexed and crosslinked with other documents
- Organization of World Heritage Cities — Dealing with urban sites only
- WHTour.org — World Heritage sites in panographies - 360 degree imaging
- Worldheritage-Forum — Weblog and Information on World Heritage Issues
- UK Government's list of UK World Heritage Sites
- US National Park Service's list of US World Heritage Sites
- Parks Canada's list of Canadian World Heritage Sites
- thesalmons.org's world heritage list — Unofficial list with links and map of sites
- VRheritage.org — Documentation of World Heritage Sites
- whc.kmz — Unofficial and incomplete World Heritage List in Google Earth ( en français)
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