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UNESCOs definition for a World Heritage Site (WHS)

Four Points to be slotted into one of these categories, a potential WHS would need to, (according to UNESCO) :

UNESCO defines a WHS as a place or environment of “great significance” or meaning to mankind. It may be a living urban city or a rural settlement, a natural landscape (an underground cave, for instance), a forest or a water body, an archaeological site (where excavations have revealed relics of the past) or a geological phenomenon.

Thus, it could be a natural site, a cultural site (which would be a traditional man-made settlement representative of a culture or cultures resulting from human interaction with the environment), or a site that’s a mix of both.

1) Be of outstanding universal value which would be reflected in the historic, social, scientific, aesthetic and/or spiritual value of the place to mankind.

2) display progressive developments in architecture, technology, the creation of monuments, town-planning, landscaping, etc.,

3) Reflect a distinct cultural tradition/civilization that is still vibrant or which has disappeared; and
4) Have exceptional examples of building styles that reflect its history.

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