Tentative 3 UNESCO Heritage Sites Added in India

Context:

Gujarat’s Vadnagar town, the iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, and the rock cut sculptures of Unakoti in Tripura have been added to the tentative list of UNCESO World Heritage Sites. With this, India now has 52 sites on UNESCO Tentative List.

Relevance:

GS-I: Art and Culture

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites?
2. What are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
3. UNESCO World Heritage Committee

What is the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites?

• If a state considers a monument/site has cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List. Then the state prepares a list of such sites and sends it to UNESCO. The UNESCO after preliminary inspection accepts/rejects the monument and form a tentative list.
• A position on a country’s tentative list does not automatically tender that site with world heritage status.
• It is mandatory to put any monument/site on the Tentative List (TL) before it is considered for the final nomination dossier.
• The sites will remain on the tentative list for a year, after which the government will decide which one of them to push for in their final dossier to UNESCO.
• The tentative list is extremely important. This is because the World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for the World Heritage List unless the property has already been included on the State party’s tentative list.

What are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

• UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of distinctive cultural or physical importance which is considered of outstanding value to humanity.
• It may be a building, a city, a complex, a desert, a forest, an island, a lake, a monument, or a mountain.
• They have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy as they have a special cultural or physical significance and outstanding universal value to the humanity.
• Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites.
• At present, India has 38 World Heritage Properties. All the sites under the Ministry are conserved as per ASI’s Conservation Policy and are in good shape.

UNESCO World Heritage Committee

• The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger.
• It monitors the state of conservation of the World Heritage properties, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.
• It is composed of 21 states parties that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term.
• India is NOT a member of this Committee.

-Source: The Hindu