The World Heritage Convention

The World Heritage Convention was adopted by UNESCO in 1972. The Convention links together in one single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. The convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two.

Sweden ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1985 och by now 180 nations have signed the Convention. The Convention sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention each country pledges to conserve not only the World Heritage sites located on its territory, but also to protect its national heritage.

One of the purposes of the Convention is to establish satisfying conditions in each country to protect and preserv the natural and cultural heritage. Other parts of the World Heritage mission is to support States Parties´ work to increase the public awareness of the importance of World Heritage conservation and to encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage.