World Heritage Sites Designation

Abstract

The World Heritage Convention celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2012, and has achieved near‐universal participation by UNESCO's member states. The World Heritage List is the Convention's centerpiece and has more than 1,000 inscriptions of natural and cultural heritage properties in 167 countries. Many of these consist of several or even hundreds of individual sites, including monuments and archaeological sites, entire city centers, national parks, landscapes, and transcontinental cultural routes. While the prestigious status of World Heritage is actively sought, the processes for inscription can be complex and require resources and political capital. There are persisting challenges in the World Heritage system arising from its Eurocentric conceptual framework, and gaps and imbalances in relation to the world's cultural and natural diversity. Other tensions arise due to the centrality of national governments and technical expertise, the need for greater processes for consent and involvement of local communities and rights‐holders, and an ever‐growing suite of complex pressures.