SUPPORT WORLD HERITAGE

Supporting World Heritage can be done in many ways! Today, it’s easy for everyone - from individuals to large companies – to engage with leading World Heritage organizations and make a lasting, positive impact. Robin Tauck is a supporter….It is up to industry leaders and millions of travelers to pave the way towards a better tomorrow for our vast natural and cultural World Heritage.

Definition of World Heritage: Sites, Organizations and Conventions
For Our 2009 Article on World Heritage Sites, click here

World Heritage represents our past, present, and future-- it is what we value most as a local and global community. World Heritage sites can be cultural – such as historic cities, monuments, and archeological sites – or natural treasures, like marine biospheres or ancient canyons. What makes it ‘World Heritage’ …is UNESCO qualification as having “outstanding universal value” to all people of the world, regardless of nationality, race, religion, or age.

There are currently 890 World Heritage sites – 689 cultural, 176 natural and 25 mixed (both cultural and natural). World Heritage sites are located in 148 nations, all of which are party to the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. As of 2009, 186 states parties have ratified the Convention.

World Heritage sites include many of the most iconic travel spots on the planet, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur in Egypt; the Taj Mahal in India; England’s Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador; and Yellowstone National Park and the Statue of Liberty in the United States, to name a few.

Scores of lesser-known places of outstanding importance include: Garamba National Park, Republic of Congo; the Borobudur Temple Compounds in Indonesia; the archaeologically rich Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, Mongolia; and New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands.

Only States Parties to the Convention, who have pledged to protect and conserve their natural and cultural heritage, may nominate sites for the esteemed status. Once nominated, the 21-nation Committee board reviews the nominees for minimally one of 10 selection criteria prior to Inscription.

List of World Heritage in Danger

Currently there are 31 sites on the Endangered List. These include the Galápagos Islands, the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, and many other significant sites. The Convention and States Parties pledge economic resources and engage UNESCO Advisory Bodies such as IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM to assess, rectify and monitor the List of World Heritage in Danger.

To read our article in Travel Weekly on endangered sitess – click here

Sites that have been removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger with the help of sustainable tourism:

Ankgkor, Cambodia

Angkor, Cambodia a fabulous archaeological sites, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. In 1993, UNESCO embarked upon an ambitious plan to safeguard and develop the historical site carried out by the Division of Cultural Heritage in close cooperation with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre. Illicit excavation, pillaging and landmines were the major problems. Thankfully, the site was removed from the Endangered Danger in 2004.

The Old City of Dubrovnik, Croatia 

The ‘pearl of the Adriatic’, dotted with beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings had withstood centuries and survived several earthquakes. In 1991, when seriously damaged by artillery fire, the city was added to the List of World Heritage in Danger. With UNESCO providing technical and financial assistance, the Croatian Government restored the facades of the Franciscan and Dominican cloisters, repaired roofs and rebuilt palaces. In 1998, Dubrovnik was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania 

This huge crater with the largest concentration of wild animals in the world was listed as an endangered site in 1984 because of the overall deterioration of the site due to the lack of management. By 1989, thanks to continuous monitoring and technical cooperation projects, the situation had improved and the site was removed from the Endangered List.

Join the UN Foundation’s World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (WHA)!

Since 2005, WHA aligns with individuals, corporations, travel and tourism leaders, as well as NGOs and governmental organizations to help support World Heritage conservation through sustainable tourism and the responsible development of the local communities and economies in and around World Heritage Sites. There are currently 80 Members with lead companies such as Expedia, Fairmont Hotels, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott Corporation, Nature Air and more:

Thousands of individuals support our cause by pledging to travel responsibly and by donating to fund community projects in and around World Heritage sites.

Members commit to the following:

• Participate in employee training programs on World Heritage and responsible tourism
• Engage customers through outreach materials
• Partner with sustainable and local suppliers in and around World Heritage sites
• Create or sponsor a community-based development project
• Promote awareness and advocacy