List of World Heritage Sites in Oceania

Kakadu National Park, one of the first sites in Oceania to be inscribed as a World Heritage Site

A World Heritage Site is a location that is listed by UNESCO as having outstanding cultural or natural value to the common heritage of humanity.[1] The World Heritage Committee has designated 37 World Heritage Sites in Oceania. These are in 14 countries, with the majority of sites located in Australia. The first three inscriptions from the region, the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park and the Willandra Lakes, were in 1981—three years after the list's creation.[2] The region contains the world's three largest sites: Phoenix Islands Protected Area, Papahānaumokuākea, and the Great Barrier Reef.[3][4] In addition, the Tasmanian Wilderness is one of only two sites that meet seven out of the ten criteria for World Heritage listing (Mount Tai in China being the other).

Each year, the World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x). Some sites, designated mixed sites, represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Oceania there are 11 cultural, 19 natural and 7 mixed sites.[5] UNESCO may also specify that a site is in danger, stating "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List."[6] In 2013, the Committee added East Rennell to the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the threat of logging activities to the site's outstanding universal value.[7]

  1. ^ World Heritage Committee. "The Criteria for Selection". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  2. ^ Young, Emma (29 August 2011). "World Heritage sites of Australia". Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  3. ^ Staff writers (2010). "Marine Paradise Named Largest World Heritage Site". ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  4. ^ Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. "Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area". Government of Australia. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  5. ^ World Heritage Committee. "World Heritage List Nominations". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  6. ^ World Heritage Committee. "World Heritage in Danger". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  7. ^ World Heritage Committee. "World Heritage Committee inscribes East Rennell on the List of World Heritage in Danger". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 2013-08-13.

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