In 1972, UNESCO put in place the World Heritage Convention, a highly successful international treaty that influences heritage activity in virtually every country in the world. Focusing on the Convention's creation and early implementation, this book examines the World Heritage system and its global impact through diverse prisms, including its normative frameworks, constituent bodies, programme activities, personalities and key issues. The authors concentrate on the period between 1972 and 2000 because implementation of the World Heritage Convention during these years sets the stage for future activity and provides a foil for understanding the subsequent evolution in the decade that follows. This innovative book project seeks out the voices of the pioneers - some 40 key players who participated in the creation and early implementation of the Convention - and combines these insightful interviews with original research drawn from a broad range of both published and archival sources. The World Heritage Convention has been significantly influenced by 40 years of history. Although the text of the Convention remains unchanged, the way it has been implemented reflects global trends as well as evolving perceptions of the nature of heritage itself and approaches to conservation. Some are sounding the alarm, claiming that the system is imploding under its own weight. Others believe that the Convention is being compromised by geopolitical considerations and rivalries. This book stimulates reflection on the meaning of the Convention in the twenty-first century.

And conclusions of the workshop on the World Heritage Convention held during the IV World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, Caracas, Venezuela, February 1992 / Hemanta Mishra and N. Ishwaran -- From strength to strength : World Heritage in its 20th year / Jim Thorsell -- World Heritage at risk / James R. Paine -- The World Heritage Convention and protected landscapes / Michael Beresford and P.H.C. Lucas -- Wood Buffalo World Heritage Site : threats and possible solutions / Kevin McNamee -- Kluane and Wrangell-St Elias national parks : joint management of North America's largest wilderness / Michael Fay -- Charting a course for a greater Yellowstone tomorrow / Dennis Click -- Colombian-Panamanian border national parks in Darién / Dilver Octavio Pintor Peralta -- Public participation in the management of Huascarán World Heritage Site / Miriam Torres Angeles -- Scientific research in Bialowieza World Heritage Site / Czeslaw Okolow -- Buffer zone management in Sinharaja World Heritage Forest / H.M. Bandaratillake -- Environmental impacts of back-country tourism on three sides of Everest / Alton C. Byers and Kamal Banskota -- Sociocultural impacts of mountain tourism on Nepal's Sagarmatha (Everest) World Heritage Site : implications for sustainable tourism / David W. Robinson -- Manas : World Heritage in danger? / Sanjoy Deb Roy -- The effects of war on World Heritage sites and protected areas in Ethiopia / Tadesse Gebre-Michael, Tesfaye Hundessa and Jesse C. Hillman -- The International Foundation of the Banc d'Arguin / Luc Hoffman and Pierre Campredon -- Ngorongoro : striking a balance between conservation and development / Scott L. Perkin and Paul J. Mshanga -- Monitoring the environmental impacts of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Site / Simon Woodley -- Tourism development and Te Wahipounamu / Bruce Watson -- Application of the World Heritage Convention to Antarctica and the islands of the Southern Ocean / Paul Dingwall.

Almost fifty years have passed since the adoption of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (the UNESCO World Heritage Convention). With its 194 States Parties, it is the most widely ratified convention within the family of UNESCO treaties on the protection of cultural heritage. The success of this Convention and its almost universal acceptance by the international community of states is due to the great appeal that recognising certain properties as "world heritage" has for national governments. Since the publication of the first Commentary, new problems have arisen in the management of world heritage sites. It has become increasingly difficult to properly monitor the conservation of the ever-growing mass of sites inscribed in the World Heritage List, and to resolve disputes over the formal designation of contested world heritage properties - a problem that has led to the withdrawal of the United States and Israel from UNESCO. New frontiers are now being explored for the expansion of the world heritage idea over marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, and the monopoly of the State in the identification, delineation, and presentation of world heritage properties is being increasingly challenged in the name of indigenous peoples' rights and by local communities claiming ownership over contested cultural sites. At the same time, the regime of world heritage protection has infiltrated other areas of international law, especially international economic law, investment arbitration, and the area of international criminal law. This second edition critically examines the World Heritage Convention against this dynamic evolution of international heritage law to help academics, lawyers, diplomats, and officials interpret and apply the norms of the Convention after half a century of uninterrupted implementing practice by State Parties and Treaty Bodies.

This thematic collection of 26 case studies provides a thorough understanding of World Heritage in the context of sustainable development.

In 1972, UNESCO put in place the World Heritage Convention, a highly successful international treaty that influences heritage activity in virtually every country in the world. Focusing on the Convention's creation and early implementation, this book examines the World Heritage system and its global impact through diverse prisms, including its normative frameworks, constituent bodies, programme activities, personalities and key issues. The authors concentrate on the period between 1972 and 2000 because implementation of the World Heritage Convention during these years sets the stage for future activity and provides a foil for understanding the subsequent evolution in the decade that follows. This innovative book project seeks out the voices of the pioneers - some 40 key players who participated in the creation and early implementation of the Convention - and combines these insightful interviews with original research drawn from a broad range of both published and archival sources. The World Heritage Convention has been significantly influenced by 40 years of history. Although the text of the Convention remains unchanged, the way it has been implemented reflects global trends as well as evolving perceptions of the nature of heritage itself and approaches to conservation. Some are sounding the alarm, claiming that the system is imploding under its own weight. Others believe that the Convention is being compromised by geopolitical considerations and rivalries. This book stimulates reflection on the meaning of the Convention in the twenty-first century.