Our World Heritage

Top

Last revised: 6 October 2008

Machu Picchu in Peru

Our World Heritage

World Heritage Sites are places which need to be preserved for future generations, as part of a common universal heritage.

What is a World Heritage Site?

For the past thirty years, the United Nations Economic & Social Organisation (UNESCO) has been working with countries around the world to identify World Heritage Sites and ensure their safekeeping for future generations. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, make up our world
heritage. To date (September 2005) there are 812 sites on the                            Machu Picchu in Peru. A Town of
World Heritage List. Their values and qualities enrich our lives                             the Inca Empire, located high up in
and illustrate the diversity of our planet and its inhabitants.                                   tropical mountain forest

How are World Heritage Sites Selected?

Derwent Silk Mill and Industrial Museum

World Heritage Sites are selected according to a number of criteria defined by the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee. Sites can be important for their natural or cultural values, or both. The initiative of proposing a site for nomination can come from the site managers, heritage organisations, or the government. In the UK, the government has agreed a list of sites that it intends to submit to UNESCO over a 10-year period. As each nomination is submitted, the sites are assessed by specialist international bodies. The final decision is taken by the World Heritage Committee.Amongst the most famous cultural World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Acropolis in Athens, Venice, Machu Picchu in PeruFor more information on World Heritage Sites look at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre web site at http://whc.unesco.org









Derby Silk Mill and Industrial Museum.
Part of the Derwent Valley Mills WHS, nominated in 2002
to illustrate the industrial revolution