World Heritage

The first part of this report presents a general review and collection of case-studies on the impacts of water infrastructure on World Heritage areas world-wide. Analysing case studies from all continents, the report comes to the conclusion that the values of river ecosystems, although widely recognized by science and indigenous cultures alike, so far have not been adequately taken into account during implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

Volcanoes are true wonders of the planet; they are central to the formation, evolution and sustenance of biological systems; they form some of our deepest and most significant cultural attachments to the land; and they attract large numbers of visitors for their aesthetic appeal.

This report details multiple legal breaches by Malaysian palm oil producer Radiant Lagoon near the UNESCO-protected Gunung Mulu National Park, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

This rapid technical review assesses the “Updated Environmental Impact Assessment Report for 2100 MW Power Generation from the Rufiji Hydropower Project in Selous Game Reserve, Pwani and Morogoro regions, Tanzania” of 18 October 2018 that relates to a planned hydropower project to be built at Stiegler’s Gorge in the north of Selous Game Reserve.

Natural World Heritage sites are internationally recognised as having the highest global nature conservation priority. As of November 2017, there are 241 natural and mixed (both cultural and natural) World Heritage sites, representing about 0.1% of the total number of protected areas globally, but yet with a total coverage of 294 million hectares, accounting for 8% of the combined surface of terrestrial and 6% of marine protected areas.

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972 set the contemporary standard for cultural and natural conservation. Today, a place on the World Heritage List is much sought after for tourism promotion, development funding, and national prestige.

A Future in Ruins is the story of UNESCO's efforts to save the world's heritage and, in doing so, forge an international community dedicated to peaceful co-existence and conservation. It traces how archaeology and internationalism were united in Western initiatives after the political upheavals of the First and Second World Wars.