Criteria for inclusion on the World Heritage List

The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention provide specific criteria to determine the outstanding universal value of candidate sites. These criteria are always seen in relation to one another, and are considered in the context of the Convention’s definitions of monuments, groups of buildings, cultural and natural sites, natural features, and geological and physiographical formations. In addition to these criteria, a successful site must meet the qualifying conditions of authenticity and/or integrity. Furthermore, there is a requirement that a site have in place a management regime and management plan adequate to ensure the continued protection of the values that led to its inscription.