Sustainable Tourism Law

CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW 801 II. HERITAGE TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT II.1. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. UNESCO’s World Heritage mission is to: encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage; encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List; encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites; help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training; provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger; support States Parties’ public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation; encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage; and to encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world’s cultural and natural heritage. UNESCO also conducts programs related to tourism and sustainable development through The Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation and The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. II.2. UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted byUNESCOin1972, addresses the identification, designation, and protection of World Heritage Sites. “Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritages are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration”. 3 “The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation 3 UNESCO website http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/