What is a World Heritage Site tag?
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A World Heritage Site is an area or object inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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The sites are included for their outstanding universal value.
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They are designated under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage 1972.
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The World Heritage Centre is the Secretariat to the 1972 Convention.
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This signifies cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional that it surpasses national boundaries and becomes a site of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.
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There are three types of sites: Cultural, Natural, and Mixed.
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Cultural heritage sites include hundreds of historic buildings and town sites, important archaeological sites, and works of monumental sculpture or painting. Example: Dholavira: a Harappan City.
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Natural heritage sites are restricted to those natural areas that have excellent ecological and evolutionary processes, unique natural phenomena, habitats of rare or endangered species etc. Example: Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area.
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Mixed heritage sites contain elements of both natural and cultural significance. Example: Khangchendzonga National Park.
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Selection Criteria: To be included, sites must meet at least one of the ten selection criteria. This includes:
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site representing a masterpiece of human creative genius or
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exhibiting an important interchange of human values over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world or
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to be an outstanding example of a type of building that illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history or
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bearing unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or
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to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement or
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to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions with ideas, or with beliefs with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance or
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to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance or
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to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history or
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to be outstanding examples representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes in the evolution or
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to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity.
How are sites recognized?
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The World Heritage Convention’s operational guidelines say that a tentative list is like an inventory of properties a country thinks should be on the World Heritage Site.
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After UNESCO includes the property in the Tentative List, the country prepares a nomination document that will be considered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.