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The World Heritage Convention The World Heritage Convention is unique in two respects. Firstly it recognises both natural and cultural heritage, and secondly it provides a global mechanism for identifying and protecting important geological sites. In its 32 year history the Convention has done much to promote, at the global level, a wide range of geological heritage – from small sites of a few hectares to large areas within protected landscapes. As the Convention builds on this experience and looks forward there is considerable scope for developing new ideas and new ways of recognising outstanding geological and geomorphological heritage, and linking it with cultural and natural heritage values. To understand better how the World Heritage Convention might recognise geodiversity in future, both in its own right and as a complement to other values, IUCN (The World Conservation Union) as advisory body to the World Heritage Committee on natural heritage undertook a thematic study of the role of geology and geomorphology in the World Heritage Convention. Further information can be found in the 'Geological World Heritage: a Global Framework' document (file format PDF, size 473 KB). The role of the World Heritage convention in global geoconservation was also discussed at the 'Earth heritage: World Heritage' Conference in a presentation given by Paul Dingwall (IUCN). Click here to view the abstract. In the UK, just two sites have been inscribed as World Heritage Sites for their geological features – The Giants Causeway and Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland, and the Dorset and East Devon Coast (Jurassic Coast) in southern England, which was inscribed in 2001. In addition the UK has one of the few combined or mixed sites, of both cultural and natural value, of which there are only 25 in the world. This site, at St Kilda in Scotland, was inscribed initially for its natural characteristices – its magnificent natural features, its habitats for rate and endangered species, and its internationally important population of seabirds. In 2005, the inscription was extended to cover its cultural landscape left by thousands of years of human occupation. St Kilda contains evidence of a lost crofting community that once lived on what has been described as 'the edge of the world'. Other sites globally inscribed for their geological features include the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh/Naracoorte), the Messel Pit in Germany, and Yellowstone National Park in the USA. For more information about World Heritage sites go to: |
UNESCO and the World Heritage Convention Other international initiatives
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