Ethical Travel - UNESCO
Solve the riddle: the Great Barrier Reef is to Lake Baikal what Angkor is to Burgos Cathedral. Stumped? Try this one instead: Bruges is to Dubrovnik what Iguaçu is to Yellowstone. Give up?
Story Highlights
- A Common Connection
- UNESCO World Heritage
- The List
- Universal Application, Universal Value and Universal Responsibility
- Protecting our World Heritage
A Common Connection
This is just a list of random places right? Wrong! There is a connection here ‐ all the locations I mentioned have earned a place on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. All 878 sites, from abbey to forest, to coast, castle and minaret are part of our global culture. They are a piece of our past and UNESCO ensures that they will be part of our future.
UNESCO World Heritage
UNESCO encourages the identification and protection of these properties, and this work is reflected in its World Heritage Mission. As a working tool of UNESCO, the World Heritage Convention safeguards these sites for the future and encourages the nomination of sites to the World Heritage List.
Practically the convention helps those involved in establishing the management, monitoring, technical assistance and professional training necessary to protect sites. It also provides emergency aid for sites in need of immediate assistance. Furthermore the convention works to raise awareness of heritage protection on an international level and encourages locals to participate in the protection of their heritage.
The List
So what are the criteria for admission to the list? Well first of all a site must be of outstanding universal value. It must also meet at least one of the ten selection criteria set by the World Heritage Committee. These are revised from year to year, but the protection, integrity, management and authenticity of properties have become important, and constant factors in the selection process.
Universal Application, Universal Value and Universal Responsibility
The diversity of sites that compose the World Heritage List demonstrates the richness of global heritage, but it’s also a testament to the universality of the World Heritage mission:
“that irrespective of border, our heritage is a universal one, and we share a universal responsibility to protect it.”
Protecting our World Heritage
So when you’re on the road or on the run ‐ what can you do to help? Well UNESCO’s Gina Doubleday offers this advice:
ldquo;Respect the site … and … contribute to the local economy, particularly where there are small businesses, tour operators … whose livelihoods support the life of the community and preservation of the site.rdquo;
Want to draw up your own list but don’t know where to start? Well riddle me this: what do the Tower of London, the Banks of the Seine, the Defence Line of Amsterdam, Edinburgh and the City of Bath all have in common? Yes, that’s right – they’re all on the World Heritage List. But wait ‐ there’s more! They all have a St Christopher’s Inn ready to welcome you while you’re out supporting UNESCO’s work so don’t get caught in a conundrum ‐ get listing, get packing and get going!
If you’d like a little more information on UNESCO and World Heritage, take a trip to this website.
‐ Jackie Reddy
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