UPSC Study Notes: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The UNESCO
World Heritage Sites is a part of various government exam syllabus
like UPSC CSE, SSC etc. Here’s an article that shares brief information on
the important points of UNESCO World Heritage Sitesand a list of all
the World Heritage Sites in India. This article is brought to you by Oliveboard, an
online exam preparation platform for government and banking jobs.
The UNESCO encourages
countries, state parties and their local populace, to participate and
cooperate in the preservation and protection of their respective cultural and
natural heritage, by nominating them for inclusion on the World Heritage
List. There is a total of ten criteria and the nominated site must meet at
least one, to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
·
The site needs to
represent a masterpiece of human creation.
·
The site has to
exhibit an interchange of human value, over a period of time, on developments
in architecture, monumental arts, landscape design.
·
The site has to
bear as an evidence to a present culture/civilization or one that has
disappeared.
·
The site has to be
an outstanding/magnificent work of art which displays significant stage(s) in
human history.
·
The site has to be
an important example of a human traditional settlement which represents a
culture or represents human interaction with nature, especially if the site has
become endangered under the impact of change.
·
The site has to be
associated with events/beliefs/traditions that are of outstanding significance.
·
The site has to
contain a magnificent natural phenomenon or extraordinary natural beauty and
aesthetics.
·
The site has to
represent the major stages of the history of earth, including records of life,
significant processes in the development of major land forms.
·
The site has to
represent important biological/ecological evolution which are on-going, also
development of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, plants and animals.
·
The site has to
contain natural habitats to sustain biological diversity, including endangered
and important species of outstanding value.
UNESCO
has listed total of 1052 properties. 814 Cultural sites, 203 Natural sites
and 35 Mixed.
After
the inscription, the sites listed on the World Heritage List
are periodically monitored by local
authorities and site managers, who’s duty is to manage and preserve
the properties, and provide periodic reports, which contain updated information
about the sites, to the World Heritage Committee.
List
of World Heritage Sites in India
