Article Title: UNESCO World Heritage List
25-07-2023
History & Art and Culture Prelims Plus
Why is in news? India has 40 Sites in the UNESCO World Heritage List
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) follows its own guidelines for the conservation of centrally protected monuments as per the National Conservation Policy, 2014.
There are 3696 centrally protected monuments/sites under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)Conservation of monuments/sites is taken up as per the requirement and availability of resources.
Currently, India has 40 Sites in the UNESCO World Heritage List and 52 sites (including 6 added in year 2022) in the UNESCO Tentative List.
Inclusion of any property in Tentative List is a prerequisite condition for onward inclusion in the World Heritage List.
Augmentation of Tentative List is continuous process. As per UNESCO Operational Guidelines, 2021, only one property, either cultural or natural, can be nominated for inscription process annually
Additionally, inclusion of any site requires fulfilment of Criteria, meeting the condition of authenticity and integrity and providing justification of Outstanding Universal Value.
How is a World Heritage Site selected?
The first step towards the listing is the nomination of a site by the respective government of a country.
The site should have an Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for World Heritage nomination.
To determine the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for World Heritage nomination, there are ten enlisted criteria.
The proposed nomination must satisfy at least one of these ten criteria.
The Nomination File is then evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union.
These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee.
The Committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List and sometimes defers the decision to request more information from the country which nominated the site.
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