The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

3. World Heritage Cultural Landscapes: a global perspective
With the inclusion of the cultural landscapes cate gory in 1992, far-reaching changes were also
made to the management and legal provisions and other paragraphs of the Operational
Guidelines. It became possible to nominate a site after the guidelines were modified to
recognise traditional protection or management mechanisms. The site was considered eligible
if there were “adequate legal and/or traditional protection and management mechanisms to
ensure the conservation of the nominated cultural properties or cultural landscapes. The
existence of protective legislation at the national, provincial or municipal levels and/or a well
established contractual or traditional protection as well as of adequate management and/or
planning control mechanisms is therefore essential…. Assurances of the effective imple -
mentation of these laws and/or contractual and/or traditional protection as well as of these
management mechanisms are also expected.” 7 In 1998 the Operational Guidelines were further
modified to recognise traditional management mech anisms and customary law as acceptable
forms of protection for natural heritage. Subsequently, for the first time in the history of the
Convention, a traditionally managed natural site, East Rennell (Solomon Islands), was in -
scribed on the World Heritage List in 1998.
In 1992, for the first time, the involvement of local people in the nomination process was
recognised as necessary and changes were introduced accordingly into the Operational
Guidelines. Paragraph 14 was changed to “Participation of local people in the nomination
process is essential to make them feel a shared responsibility with the State Party in the
maintenance of the site”. The involvement of local people was further strengthened in the new
Operational Guidelines of 2004.
For the first time the word “sustainable” appeared in the text of the Operational Guidelines
with “sustainable land-use”. This addition was discussed at the World Heritage Committee
meeting in December 1992 and the “spirit” of the Earth Summit, the Rio Conference, was
evident in the debates. The conservation of World Heritage cultural landscapes can demon -
strate the principles of sustainable land use and of the maintenance of local cultural and
biological diversity, which should pervade the management of the surrounding environment.
The management of cultural and natural World Heritage can be a standard-setter for the
conservation of the environment as a whole, by establishing exemplars of what is required
elsewhere. It can also help to reinforce the standing of heritage conservation at national and
local levels.
Conclusions
This review of the past thirty years of implementation of the World Heritage Convention
reveals a broadened interpretation of heritage. The inclusion of cultural landscapes and, in
particular, continuing and associative landscapes, has changed the perception and the practice
of the Convention. This evolution in the interpretation of the World Heritage Convention
represents only the beginning of recognition of the complexity and wealth of diverse values,
including intangible values, in relation to protected areas, and in particular to sites of out -
standing universal value. An inclusive approach is crucial for the designation and management
of World Heritage sites in order to benefit people living in and around these sites, the
conservation community, and humanity as a whole.
7
UNESCO 2002, paragraph 24; The new Operational Guidelines.
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