Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

• Sets out the obligations of a country to regularly
report on the condition of the sites.
• Encourages countries to increase public
appreciation of the sites.
Selection Criteria
The criteria for the inclusion of a site on the World
Heritage List are described in the Operational
Guidelines for the Implementation of the World
Heritage Convention (UNESCO, 2005a). The criteria
have been revised regularly by the World Heritage
Committee to match the evolution of the world
heritage concept itself. A property has outstanding
universal value when the site:
1. Represents a masterpiece of human creative
genius.
2. Exhibits an important interchange of human values
over a span of time or within a cultural area of
the world, on developments in architecture or
technology, monumental arts, town planning, or
landscape design.
3. Bears a unique or at least exceptional testimony
to a cultural tradition or to a civilization that is
living or has disappeared.
4. Is an outstanding example of a type of building
or architectural or technological ensemble, or
landscape that illustrates a significant stage or
significant stages in human history.
5. Is an outstanding example of a traditional
human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is
representative of a culture or cultures, or human
interaction with the environment especially when
it has become vulnerable under the impact of
irreversible change.
6. Is directly or tangibly associated with events or
living traditions, with ideas or beliefs, or with
artistic and literary works of outstanding universal
significance (a criterion used only in exceptional
circumstances, or together with other criteria).
7. Contains superlative natural phenomena or
areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic
importance.
8. Is an outstanding example representing major
stages of the Earth’s history, including the record
of life, significant ongoing geological processes
in the development of landforms, or significant
geomorphic or physiographic features.
9. Represents an outstanding example of significant
ongoing ecological and biological processes in
the evolution and development of terrestrial,
fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems, and
communities of plants and animals.
10. Contains the most important and significant
natural habitats for in-situ conservation of
biological diversity, including those containing
threatened species of outstanding universal value
from the point of view of science or conservation
(UNESCO, 2005a:20).
Properties nominated under the first six criteria must
meet the condition of authenticity, which is the truthful
and credible expression of cultural value through a
variety of attributes including:
• Form and design.
• Materials and substance.
• Use and function.
• Traditions, techniques, and management systems.
• Location and setting.
• Language and other forms of intangible heritage.
• Spirit and feeling.
• Other internal and external factors (UNESCO,
2005a:21).
All properties must meet the conditions of integrity
defined as “a measure of the wholeness and
intactness of the natural and/or cultural heritage and
its attributes” (UNESCO, 2005a). Each property is
assessed to determine the extent to which it:
• Includes all elements necessary to express its
outstanding universal value.
• Is of adequate size to ensure the complete
representation of the features and processes
which convey the property’s significance.
• Suffers from adverse effects of development and/
or neglect (UNESCO, 2005a:22).
The application for a site to be inscribed on the World
Heritage List must come from the country itself.
UNESCO makes no recommendations for listing. The
application must include a plan describing how the
site is and will be managed and protected. The World
Heritage Committee meets once a year to review
nominated sites on the basis of technical evaluations.
These independent evaluations of proposed cultural
and natural sites are provided by two advisory
bodies, the International Council on Monuments and
107 Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas