Sustainable Tourism Law

CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW 807 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.” 12 Arguably, sites on the World Heritage List could gain further protection. The UNESCO website states that: “The site is the property of the country on whose territory it is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to protect the site for future generations. Its protection and preservation become a concern of the international World Heritage community as a whole.” 13 . It seems that in the 21 st century the rights of humanity, individuals, and world bodies should include the right to protect the property common to all of mankind. The Heritage Convention and Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention 14 provides protection for: a) Cultural Landscapes; b) Historic Towns and Town Centres; c) Heritage Canals; d) Heritage Routes. CONCLUSIONS The law generally reflects the society that generated it, and usually moves in response to the issues of the day, however, there is a great need today for the law to reflect the realities of our emerging global village. In our age of mass communication, transportation, travel, and immigration, our laws, both international and state-based, must adopt to enable humankind to enjoy the freedoms our technology has provided. The law should not act as a barrier to the free movement of people, products and production; it should enable all of humanity to flourish. Even the ancient Chinese Great Wall, was built, not as a military barrier, but as a vast fire and smoke based communication network, as well as an immigration check point to halt the travel of “barbarians” from the north into the civilization of the Chinese south. But in the end, no government can stop all people from 12 UNESCO website http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/ 13 UNESCO website http://whc.unesco.org/en/faq/ 14 Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention pages 83-89