Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 May 2010
119 Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will give details of the UN-mandated responsibilities and restrictions on local communities living in or adjacent to a world heritage site which will provide the guidance to his Department in its management of a site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18487/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe World Heritage Convention (the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage) was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. This Convention:
defines the kind of natural and cultural properties which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List;
sets out the duties of State Parties in identifying potential properties and their role in protecting and preserving them;
explains how the World Heritage Fund is to be used and managed; and
obliges State Parties to report regularly to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of their World Heritage properties. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1991. Details of the Convention are available on the UNESCO website at http://whc.unesco.org/archive/convention-en.pdf .
The primary framework for the operation of the World Heritage Convention is provided by the Convention itself and the UNESCO Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. The Guidelines aim to facilitate the implementation of the Convention and cover such subjects as:
Tentative Lists;
Criteria for assessment of outstanding universal value;
Protection and management;
the process for the inscription of properties on the World Heritage List, and
the process for monitoring the state of conservation of World Heritage properties.
The guidelines may be found on the UNESCO website at http://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines.
