Exactly How Hard is it to Get the Chop from UNESCO's World Heritage List?

A sub-editor on a travel magazine I once worked on would curse every time he opened a feature to find the writer had referenced a destination’s World Heritage status. “It’s become a cliché,” he’d say. “It’s right up there with 'a stone’s throw' and 'quaint cobbled streets' … every-bloody-where is a World Heritage Site these days – there’s nothing unique or special about them…” And on he’d go, moaning about travel writers and their inability to think up anything new.

And he had a point. The UNESCO World Heritage Site list started in 1978 with just 12 entries; 45 were added the following year and 27 in 1980 – UNESCO was making up for lost time.

Since those first inductions, a total of 890 sites worldwide have been designated World Heritage Sites. That's a 12-site increase even on the number included in UNESCO’s own recently released book of its sites.

The World's Heritage catalogues 878 sites worldwide that are listed for their cultural or natural importance (most ancient or historic sites fall into the former category). The scope of the book is quite breathtaking – it comes in at over 830 pages – because it ambitiously seeks to showcase every site on UNESCO's protected list.

But What Exactly are World Heritage Sites?

World Heritage Site status is intended to be a support service for countries that have ratified the 1972 World Heritage Convention. It’s a benchmark that helps states identify and protect cultural and natural heritage that is deemed to be particularly special. Other than my sub-editor friend, few people would complain about the extensive nature of the list. The funding, publicity and tourist dollars that flow as a result of a listing serve to sure up sites and help guarantee them future protection.

But the status isn’t forever. Sites must comply with UNESCO guidelines relating to conservation and management in order to keep their name on the prized list. Just this year, Germany’s Dresden Elbe Valley lost its status following the construction of a four-lane bridge in the heart of the cultural landscape. It was only the second site ever to get the chop – Oman’s Arabian Oryx Sanctuary had the honour of becoming the first in 2007.

More recently, the heritage status of Bolivia’s Tiwanku site was questioned after a clay adobe mixture – rather than stones – was used during restoration. The work was halted when UNESCO – followed by a flood of negative media reports – stepped in.

Falling Out of Favour

But losing Heritage Status isn’t simply a matter of doing a little inappropriate patchwork. The process of deletion is long and drawn-out, and designed to help sites out of trouble rather than see them fall by the wayside.

UNESCO has a monitoring system that dispatches missions to sites viewed as being at risk or suffering “particular stress”.

In France, there is ongoing debate over a new bridge planned for the River Garonne to help ease Bordeaux’s traffic congestion. UNESCO last year requested a report into the visual impact of the proposed design, which it said could risk the city’s World Heritage status. A mission to monitor the situation was duly dispatched.

Last year the World Heritage Committee asked that this “reinforced monitoring” be applied to three other sites as well; seven others were already under surveillance.

After that, there’s the Last Chance Saloon: UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. This year, the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System was just one site added to the Danger List because of man-made problems (mangrove cutting and excessive development). But some sites use the Danger List to their advantage as part of a last-ditch attempt to save the status: Colombian authorities themselves this year requested the Los Katios National Park be placed on the Danger List in an effort to help mobilise international support for the preservation of the park.

Cultural Heritage is Big Business

In the end, survival comes down to common sense (tip: try to avoid unauthorised four-lane bridges) and dollars and cents. Which is why just this week, UNESCO announced a partnership with travel website TripAdvisor to help promote World Heritage Sites.

And it’s why UNESCO has released this lovely book collating its entire World Heritage Site portfolio (plus the Dresden site that made the final edit just prior to receiving the chop). Cultural heritage is big business, and UNESCO knows this better than most.

Read 5 comments, or leave your own

About The Author

Lynette Eyb

Last three pieces by this author:

Did Ryszard Kapuściński Follow Herodotus' Example and Make Things Up? | Top 10 Ancient Sites in Syria | People Power Could Signal the End of Uluru Tourist Climb

Lynette Eyb is the books editor of Heritage-Key.com. She trained in Australia as a journalist before moving to London, where she wrote for and edited various magazines. She has travelled extensively, exploring the ancient wonders of China, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, the UK and Ireland along the way. Lyn lives in Bordeaux with her partner and their young daughter.