UNESCO

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study, the book links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied.

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. Presenting case studies from across the globe, particularly from Africa and Asia, anthropologists with situated expertise in specific World Heritage sites explore the consequences of the World Heritage framework and the global spread of the UNESCO heritage regime.

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. 

An Internationally Designated Area (IDA) is a natural area internationally recognised by a global or regional designation mechanism. Among these, there are 263 areas where different IDAs fully or partially overlap thus carrying double, triple or even quadruple international designations.

Un Área de Designación Internacional (ADI) es un área natural reconocida internacionalmente por un mecanismo de designación global o regional. De todos éstos, 263 son áreas con diferentes ADI solapadas total o parcialmente, con lo que tienen designaciones internacionales dobles, triples o incluso cuádruples. Estas áreas se denominan Áreas de Designación Internacional Múltiple (ADIM) a efectos de la presente publicación.

Un site à désignation internationale (SDI) est un site naturel reconnu au niveau par un mécanisme de désignation régional ou mondial. Parmi eux figurent 263 aires dans lesquelles différentes SDI se chevauchent, entièrement ou partiellement, ce qui double ou triple, voire quadruple les désignations internationales. Dans le cadre de cette publication, ces sites sont dénommés sites à désignations internationales multiples (SDIM).

An Internationally Designated Area (IDA) is a natural area internationally recognised by a global or regional designation mechanism. Among these, there are 263 areas where different IDAs fully or partially overlap thus carrying double, triple or even quadruple international designations.

UNESCO biosphere reserves are regions that resemble protected areas, but go far beyond mere protection. Their target is to balance nature conservation with socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. This manual gives guidance to managers, their key partners and stakeholders on this central issue of UNESCO biosphere reserves: why and how to work with local communities. This manual focuses on practical aspects such as how to address and manage local conflicts between stakeholders as well as on co-management with local communities and benefit-sharing.

UNESCO biosphere reserves are regions that resemble protected areas, but go far beyond mere protection. Their target is to balance nature conservation with socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. This manual gives guidance to managers, their key partners and stakeholders on this central issue of UNESCO biosphere reserves: why and how to work with local communities. This manual focuses on practical aspects such as how to address and manage local conflicts between stakeholders as well as on co-management with local communities and benefit-sharing.