What is the UNESCO World Heritage Site Program?
Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritages are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as diverse as the Prambanan Temples of Java, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and the Great Wall of China make up our world’s heritage. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO IN 1972. (From the World Heritage Centre) THE GULF OF MANNAR – NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE CRITERIA OF OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL VALUE Cultural Heritage Criteria A World Heritage Cultural Site is considered to be of outstanding univers
