Other Requirements for Selection

Each property individually and each nomination collectively must demonstrate:

Auschwitz Birkenau World Heritage Site, Oswiecim, Poland
Photo by Michel Zacharz

1. Authenticity. Properties meet this condition if their cultural values are truthfully and credibly expressed through a variety of attributes such as their form/design, materials/substance, use/function, location/setting, and other, less tangible factors.

2. Integrity. Properties meet this condition if they display a measure of wholeness and intactness; they need to include all of the elements necessary to express its Outstanding Universal Value.

3. Comparative value. The nominated properties should be compared to other similar properties, both on the World Heritage list and not, inside the U.S. and worldwide. The comparison should outline the similarities the nominated property has with other properties and the reasons that make the nominated property stand out. The comparative analysis should aim to explain the importance of the nominated property both in its national and international context

4. Appropriate boundaries. Boundaries should be drawn around each property to incorporate all the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value and to ensure its integrity and authenticity.

5. Adequate buffer zone. Properties need to have an identified area surrounding them that has complementary legal and/or customary restrictions placed on its use and development to give an added layer of protection to the property. This should include the immediate setting of the nominated property, important views and other areas or attributes that are functionally important as a support to the property and its protection.

Stone Town of Zanzibar World Heritage Site, United Republic of Tanzania
Photo by Rod Waddington

6. Protection. Properties must have adequate long-term legislative, regulatory, institutional and/or traditional protection and management to ensure their safeguarding.

7. Management plans, both individual and coordinated. Each property should have an appropriate management plan that specifies how the Outstanding Universal Value of a property should be preserved for present and future generations. The plan should include cycles of planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and feedback. For serial nominations, a system that ensures the coordinated management of the separate components is essential.

Each of these elements will be reviewed by the Committee of Preservationists, experts from around the word, many of whom have experience with World Heritage nominations.