World Heritage Glossary

Advisory Bodies

The 3 international non-governmental or intergovernmental organisations named in the World Heritage Convention (ICCROM, ICOMOS, IUCN) that advise the World Heritage Committee in its deliberations. Find out more

Attributes

(often called 'features' for natural heritage properties)

"Attributes convey the potential Outstanding Universal Value and enable an understanding of that value. These attributes will be the focus of protection and management actions, and institutional arrangements, and their spatial distribution and respective protection requirements will inform the boundary of the property.

Attributes can be physical qualities or fabric, but can also include processes, associated with a property, that impact on physical qualities, such as natural or agricultural processes, social arrangements or cultural practices that have shaped distinctive landscapes. For natural properties they can be specific landscape features, areas of habitat, flagship species, aspects relating to environmental quality (such as intactness, high/pristine environmental quality), scale and naturalness of habitats, and size and viability of wildlife populations."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Annex 5

Authenticity

"Properties may be understood to meet the conditions of authenticity if their cultural values (as recognized in the nomination criteria proposed) are truthfully and credibly expressed through a variety of attributes."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 82

Authenticity only applies to cultural properties and to the cultural aspects of 'mixed' properties.

Source: Operational Guidelines, Annex 5

Buffer Zone

"An area surrounding the World Heritage Site which has complementary legal and/or customary restrictions placed on its use and development to give an added layer of protection to the World Heritage Site."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 104

General Assembly

The General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention consists of the representatives of all States Parties to the World Heritage Convention. It meets every 2 years during the sessions of the General Conference of UNESCO. Each country has 1 vote, irrespective of its size or the extent of its contribution to the World Heritage Fund. Its main functions are the election of the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee and the determination, in the form of a uniform percentage, of the amount of contributions to be paid by States Parties to the World Heritage Fund. Find out more

Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA)

A structured process of assessment implemented to determine the potential impacts of a proposal on all aspects of the historic environment, and recommend ways to avoid, minimise and mitigate harmful impacts and maximise opportunities for enhancement in the interest of the conservation of a heritage asset's significance.

"In the context of World Heritage properties, a Heritage Impact Assessment should be particularly focused on identifying and assessing negative and positive impacts on the attributes which convey the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage property."

Source: UNESCO Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, Glossary

ICCROM

The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) is an intergovernmental organization working in service to its Member States to promote the conservation of all forms of cultural heritage, in every region of the world. Find out more

"The specific role of ICCROM in relation to the Convention includes: being the priority partner in training for cultural heritage, monitoring the state of conservation of World Heritage cultural properties, reviewing requests for International Assistance submitted by States Parties, and providing input and support for capacity building activities."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 33

ICOMOS International

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the conservation of the world's monuments and sites. Find out more

"The specific role of ICOMOS in relation to the Convention includes: evaluation of properties nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List, monitoring the state of conservation of World Heritage cultural properties, reviewing requests for International Assistance submitted by States Parties, and providing input and support for capacity building activities."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 35

Integrity

"A measure of the wholeness and intactness of the natural and/or cultural heritage and its attributes."

Source: (Operational Guidelines, paragraph 88)

IUCN

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international, non-governmental organisation and the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Find out more

"The specific role of IUCN in relation to the Convention includes: evaluation of properties nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List, monitoring the state of conservation of World Heritage natural properties, reviewing requests for International Assistance submitted by States Parties, and providing input and support for capacity building activities."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 37

Operational Guidelines (OG)

The World Heritage Committee, the main body in charge of the implementation of the Convention, has developed precise criteria for the inscription of properties on the World Heritage List and for the provision of international assistance under the World Heritage Fund. These are all included in a document entitled 'Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention'. This document is regularly revised by the Committee to reflect new concepts, knowledge or experiences. Find out more

Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)

"Outstanding Universal Value means cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole. The Committee defines the criteria for the inscription of properties on the World Heritage List."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 49

Property

A site on a list of properties maintained by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO and called the World Heritage List "forming part of the cultural heritage and natural heritage... which it considers as having outstanding universal value in terms of such criteria as it shall have established."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Article 11

Note: 'property' has the same definition as 'World Heritage Site', also in this glossary

Significance

The value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. The interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset's physical presence but also from its setting. For World Heritage Sites, the cultural value described within each site's Statement of Outstanding Universal Value forms part of its significance. Find out more

State of Conservation Report

State of Conservation reports are the result of the Reactive Monitoring process, which is the "reporting by the Secretariat, other sectors of UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the Committee on the state of conservation of specific World Heritage properties that are under threat. To this end, the States Parties shall submit specific reports and impact studies each time exceptional circumstances occur or work is undertaken which may have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property or its state of conservation."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 169

The structure of the report is set out under Operational Guidelines Annex 13.

Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (SOUV)

"When deciding to inscribe a property on the World Heritage List, the Committee, guided by the Advisory Bodies, adopts a Statement of Outstanding Universal Value for the property.

The Statement of Outstanding Universal Value should include a summary of the Committee's determination that the property has Outstanding Universal Value, identifying the criteria under which the property was inscribed, including the assessments of the conditions of integrity, and, for cultural and mixed properties, authenticity. It should also include a statement on the protection and management in force and the requirements for protection and management for the future. The Statement of Outstanding Universal Value shall be the basis for the future protection and management of the property."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraphs 154-155

State Party (or Member State)

States Parties are countries which have adhered to the 1972 UNESCO 'Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.'

"Each State Party to this Convention recognizes that the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage referred to in Articles 1 and 2 and situated on its territory, belongs primarily to that State. It will do all it can to this end, to the utmost of its own resources and, where appropriate, with any international assistance and co-operation, in particular, financial, artistic, scientific and technical, which it may be able to obtain."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Article 4

Technical Review

A process of assessment conducted by the World Heritage Committee's Advisory Bodies and administered by the World Heritage Centre which involves the review of individual proposals submitted by the State Party under paragraphs 172 and 174 of the 'Operational Guidelines'. Advice and recommendations are offered in a formal peer-reviewed report which is shared with the State Party.

UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other's lives. Find out more

Value

In the context of heritage conservation, values are the qualities for which a heritage place is considered important to be protected for present and future generations. Values are determined by a range of social and cultural factors. What is valued by one section of society may not be valued by another, or may be valued for different reasons, or one generation may value it but it may not be valued by the next generation. Heritage places normally have a range of values: aesthetic, architectural, biological, ecological, historic, geological, social, spiritual, etc. These values are embodied in and conveyed by the attributes of the heritage place.

A World Heritage property may also have other heritage/conservation values that need to be considered in impact assessment, for instance, those that underpin national and local heritage designations, and/or the values held by Indigenous peoples and associated communities. These may be formally designated or informally recognised.

Source: UNESCO Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, Glossary

World Heritage Centre

Established in 1992, the World Heritage Centre is the focal point and coordinator within UNESCO for all matters related to World Heritage.

Ensuring the day-to-day management of the Convention, the Centre organises the annual sessions of the World Heritage Committee and its Bureau, provides advice to States Parties in the preparation of site nominations, organises international assistance from the World Heritage Fund upon request, and coordinates both the reporting on the condition of sites and the emergency action undertaken when a site is threatened. The Centre also organises technical seminars and workshops, updates the World Heritage List and database, develops teaching materials to raise awareness among young people of the need for heritage preservation, and keeps the public informed of World Heritage issues. Find out more

World Heritage Committee

The World Heritage Committee meets once a year and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly. At its first session, the Committee adopted its Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee.

The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Find out more

The World Heritage Convention

The World Heritage Convention, adopted in 1972, is a legally binding instrument providing an intergovernmental framework for international cooperation for the identification and conservation of the world's most outstanding natural and cultural properties. The document developed from the merging of 2 separate movements: the first focusing on the preservation of cultural sites, and the other dealing with the conservation of nature and defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

It sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. Under the Convention, States Parties are obliged to report regularly to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of their World Heritage properties. These reports are crucial to the work of the Committee as they enable it to assess the conditions of the sites, decide on specific programme needs and resolve recurrent problems. Find out more

World Heritage Site (WHS)

A site on a list of properties maintained by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO and called the World Heritage List "forming part of the cultural heritage and natural heritage...which it considers as having outstanding universal value in terms of such criteria as it shall have established."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Article 11

Note: 'World Heritage Site' has the same definition as 'property', also in this glossary.

World Heritage Site Management Plan

"Each nominated property should have an appropriate management plan or other documented management system which must specify how the Outstanding Universal Value of a property should be preserved, preferably through participatory means."

Source: Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 108

World Heritage List

The World Heritage List is "a list of properties forming part of the cultural heritage and natural heritage, as defined in Articles 1 and 2 of this Convention, which it considers as having outstanding universal value in terms of such criteria as it shall have established. An updated list shall be distributed at least every two years."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Article 11