What is World Heritage?

World Heritage Sites are cultural and/or natural sites that are recognised for their “Outstanding Universal Value” – meaning that they are important to all of humanity. 

UNESCO World Heritage Sites are among the most significant, unique, or best examples of the World’s natural and cultural heritage, and because of this, they belong to all people of the world no matter where they are located.  

World Heritage status is a high accolade that brings with it many responsibilities. It is a lengthy process, in which nominators must demonstrate how the proposed site meets one of ten criteria, and demonstrates authenticity as well as integrity.

Read more about World Heritage Sites on the UNESCO website. 

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to protect and preserve sites through the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972).  

Governments of countries that have ratified the Convention (States Parties) must identify and nominate suitable sites to the World Heritage Committee for inscription on the list maintained by UNESCO.  

The World Heritage Committee is made up of representatives from 21 state parties that have ratified the convention and makes the decisions on which sites make it to the World Heritage List. The UK is represented by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Read the Convention text in full

Scottish Ministers are responsible for identifying and putting forward sites to the DCMS for nomination and ensuring compliance with the Convention in relation to World Heritage Sites in Scotland. There are currently seven World Heritage Sites in Scotland.  

As the national body for the historic environment, Historic Environment Scotland carries out these roles for cultural World Heritage Sites on behalf of Ministers.  

Cultural World Heritage is in the portfolio of the Culture and External Affairs Directorate within the Scottish Government Enterprise, Environment and Innovation Directorate. Natural World Heritage is the responsibility of the Environment and Forestry Directorate.  

The Scottish Planning Policy requires planning authorities to protect World Heritage Sites and their settings from inappropriate development.  

This includes authorities having relevant policies in the development plan  and setting out factors to be taken into account when considering development proposals that may affect a World Heritage Site .

Achieving World Heritage Site status is an impressive accolade, but one that takes several years of hard work to achieve. There are four key stages from nomination to assessment by UNESCO: 

According to the World Heritage Convention (1972), each State Party is responsible for identifying potential World Heritage sites that they believe may demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) – being so exceptional that is transcends national boundaries. It must meet one of the ten criteria by which OUV is assessed, as well as demonstrate authenticity and integrity. If the State Party is seeking World Heritage status within the next five to ten years, the site is placed on the UK Tentative List.  

When the State Party wishes to put forwards a site from the Tentative List, it must create a Nomination Document. This document sets out the history/background of the site, how it demonstrates OUV and the other criteria, and details on how it will be effectively managed.  

The Nomination Document is then sent for independent review by UNESCO’s advisory bodies. 

After evaluation, the final stage of the process is evaluation by the World Heritage Committee. The committee meets once per year in July and makes the final decision whether the proposed sites will be granted World Heritage Status.  

Countries with World Heritage Sites must maintain their Outstanding Universal Value to ensure the sites remain on the World Heritage List. Two documents are essential to managing this commitment:

1. Statement of Outstanding Universal Value 

The Statement of Outstanding Universal Value defines the elements within a World Heritage Site that make it internationally important and which must be protected, conserved and managed to maintain its significance. 

The Statement of Outstanding Universal Value contains: 

• a brief description 

• statement of significance 

• statement of authenticity 

• statement of integrity 

• a section describing how the World Heritage Site is protected and managed 

Strict guidelines relating to the criteria under which the site was originally inscribed govern the development of these statements.  

2. Management plan  

UNESCO requires every World Heritage Site to have an adequate management system in place. For most sites, this will come in the form of a Management Plan. This helps to ensure a coordinated approach by all partners who work together to deliver the plan.  

A management plan: 

• clearly sets out the special qualities and values of the site  

• establishes a framework for decision-making  

• provides information on threats and opportunities for the site, so that it can be managed sustainably  

• Each World Heritage Site is unique and must have a management plan that fits its specific character and needs. 

Historic Environment Scotland is a partner in the management plans of six out of seven of the World Heritage Sites in Scotland. We also offer the site managers advice and support.