Halt
the Salt reference
4. Assessment Against World Heritage Criteria
The fundamental criterion for a place to be entered
in the World Heritage List is that it should be “of outstanding
universal value.” This concept of outstanding universal value
has been teased apart in the Operational Guidelines for different
categories of value to produce a total of 10 specific criteria: six
criteria for cultural properties and four criteria for natural properties.
The four natural heritage criteria are being used in developing this
nomination. These are given in Paragraph 44 of the Operational Guidelines
(Attachment 1).
Sites nominated should therefore:
(i) be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's
history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological
processes in the development of land forms, or significant geomorphic
or physiographic features (Geoevolutionary history);
or
(ii) be outstanding examples representing significant on-going
ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development
of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities
of plants and animals (Biological evolution); or
(iii) contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional
natural beauty and aesthetic importance (Superlative beauty);
or
(iv) contain the most important and significant natural habitats
for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those
containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from
the point of view of science or conservation (Biological
diversity).
(The terms in bold are the shorthand references to the criteria
that will be used through this Report.)
In addition, a nomination under any natural heritage
criterion must meet conditions of integrity, the requirements of which
are outlined in detail in the Operational Guidelines (see
Attachment 1). To meet the conditions of integrity, a nominated area
should include all the elements necessary to express its outstanding
universal value, be an adequate size to ensure the complete representation
of the features and processes which convey the property’s significance,
and be free from adverse effects of development and/or neglect.
An area nominated under criterion (i) should contain
all or most of the key interrelated and interdependent elements in
their natural relationships. Examples given in the Operational
Guidelines are: an "ice age" area should include
the snow field, the glacier itself and samples of cutting patterns,
deposition and colonization (e.g. striations, moraines, pioneer stages
of plant succession, etc.); in the case of volcanoes, the magmatic
series should be complete and all or most of the varieties of effusive
rocks and types of eruptions be represented.
An area nominated under criterion (ii) should be of
sufficient size and contain the necessary elements to demonstrate
the key aspects of processes that are essential for the long-term
conservation of the ecosystems and the biological diversity they contain.
Examples given in the Operational Guidelines are: an
area of tropical rain forest should include a certain amount of variation
in elevation above sea-level, changes in topography and soil types,
patch systems and naturally regenerating patches; similarly a coral
reef should include, for example, seagrass, mangrove or other adjacent
ecosystems that regulate nutrient and sediment inputs into the reef.
An area nominated under criterion (iii) should be of
outstanding aesthetic value and include areas that are essential for
maintaining the beauty of the site. The example given in the Operational
Guidelines is: a site whose scenic values depend on a waterfall,
should include adjacent catchment and downstream areas that are integrally
linked to the maintenance of the aesthetic qualities of the site.
An area nominated under criterion (iv) should contain
habitats for maintaining the most diverse fauna and flora characteristic
of the biogeographic province and ecosystems under consideration.
Examples given in the Operational Guidelines are: a tropical
savannah should include a complete assemblage of co-evolved herbivores
and plants; an island ecosystem should include habitats for
maintaining endemic biota; a site containing wide-ranging
species should be large enough to include the most critical
habitats essential to ensure the survival of viable populations of
those species; for an area containing migratory species,
seasonal breeding and nesting sites, and migratory routes,
wherever they are located, should be adequately protected;
international conventions, e.g. the Convention of Wetlands of International
Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), for
ensuring the protection of habitats of migratory species
of waterfowl, and other multi- and bilateral agreements could
provide this assurance.