Inscription of Properties on the World Heritage List
By Cheo Hong Keyong
In mid-October 2018 , the Ministry of Tourism ,
Arts and Culture , proclaimed the addition of
255 entries to the National Heritage Register in accordance with National Heritage Act 2005 . Under the Act , the Minister for Heritage may gazette any heritage site , heritage object , underwater cultural heritage or living person as a National Heritage based on a list of nine criteria stated in the Act . The criteria include “ historical importance , association with or relationship to Malaysian history ”, “ the rarity or uniqueness ” of the building , monument , site or object , and “ any other matter which is relevant to the determination of cultural heritage significance ”.
Some among the 255 entries may be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List based on the guidelines for the “ Inscription of Specific Types of Properties on the World Heritage List ” defined by The World Heritage Committee under UNESCO . As such , it is important to understand the guidelines as summarised below .
The World Heritage Committee identified and defined several specific types of cultural and natural properties and has adopted specific guidelines to facilitate the evaluation of such properties when nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List . To date , these cover the following categories , although it is likely that others may be added in due course : a . Cultural Landscapes ; b . Historic Towns and Town Centres ; c . Heritage Canals ; and d . Heritage Routes .
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Cultural landscapes are cultural properties and represent the “ combined works of nature and man ” designated in Article 1 of the Operational
Guidelines of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention . They are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time , under the influence of the physical constraints and / or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social , economic and cultural forces , both external and internal .
They should be selected on the basis of their Outstanding Universal Value ( see accompanying article on this topic ) and of their representation in terms of a clearly defined geo-cultural region and for their capacity to illustrate the essential and distinct cultural elements of such regions .
The term “ cultural landscape ” embraces a diversity of manifestations of the interaction between humankind and its natural environment .
Cultural landscapes often reflect specific techniques of sustainable land-use , considering the characteristics and limits of the natural environment in which they are established , and have a specific spiritual relation to nature . Protection of cultural landscapes can contribute to modern techniques of sustainable land-use , and can maintain or enhance natural values in the landscape . The continued existence of traditional forms of land-use supports biological diversity in many regions of the world . The protection of traditional cultural landscapes is therefore helpful in maintaining biological diversity .
Definition and Categories
Cultural landscapes fall into three main categories , namely : 1 . The most easily identifiable are the clearly defined landscapes designed and created intentionally by man . These embrace garden and parkland landscapes constructed for aesthetic reasons which are often ( but not
GUIDELINES
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