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State of Conservation Information System (SOC)

Conserve and transmit to future generations

Information System created with the support of the Governments of Flanders and of France
Design created with the support of Seema Alaam - UN Volunteers Programme

The Information System offers you a trove of reliable data on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties since 1979 and the threats they have faced in the past, or are currently facing. Through this tool, you can get access to thousands of reports and decisions adopted by the World Heritage Committee, as part of one of the most comprehensive monitoring systems of any international convention.

Statistics

Get a statistical insight of the conservation
of World Heritage since 1979

Number of properties examined each year

Distribution of the properties examined since 1979,
per region
Distribution of the properties examined since 1979,
per category of heritage

Numbers
3796
Reports
574
Properties
147
States parties

153
Natural Properties
393
Cultural Properties
28
Mixed Properties
Statistical analysis
1979-2013


Analysis of the factors having
a negative impact on World Heritage properties

States Parties and Regions

Search by Region
Africa Arab States Asia and the Pacific Europe and North America Latin America and the Caribbean
Search by State Party
Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Democratic People's Republic of Korea Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia (the) Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Reactive Monitoring process

What is Reactive Monitoring?

It is the reporting by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of specific World Heritage properties that are under threat.

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Which properties are reported upon?

The properties to be reported upon are selected, among all those inscribed on the World Heritage List, according to the following considerations...

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How are the state of conservation reports elaborated?

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies review all information available on the state of conservation of the properties foreseen for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its next session...

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What are the decisions of the World Heritage Committee?

Subsequently to the examination of the SOC report during its ordinary session, the World Heritage Committee adopts a decision, which may take one or more of the following steps...

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Why were some properties examined by the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee?

Since the early years of the World Heritage Convention (1979) until 2002, the Bureau had a substantial role in the coordination of the work of the Committee to the extent of examining all the reports on the state of conservation...

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Don’t confuse Reactive Monitoring with the Periodic Reporting exercise

World Heritage properties are also reported on through the Periodic reporting exercise. Indeed...

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Threats

The standard list of threats/factors affecting the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties consists of a series of 14 primary factors, encompassing each a number of secondary factors.

More about threats

Buildings and Development Commercial development Housing Industrial areas Interpretative and visitation facilities Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
Transportation Infrastructure Air transport infrastructure Effects arising from use of transportation infrastructure Ground transport infrastructure Marine transport infrastructure Underground transport infrastructure
Services Infrastructures Localised utilities Major linear utilities Non-renewable energy facilities Renewable energy facilities Water infrastructure
Pollution Air pollution Ground water pollution Input of excess energy Pollution of marine waters Solid waste Surface water pollution
Biological resource use/modification Aquaculture Commercial hunting Commercial wild plant collection Crop production Fishing/collecting aquatic resources Forestry /wood production Land conversion Livestock farming / grazing of domesticated animals Subsistence hunting Subsistence wild plant collection
Physical resource extraction Mining Oil and gas Quarrying Water (extraction)
Local conditions affecting physical fabric Dust Micro-organisms Pests Radiation/light Relative humidity Temperature Water (rain/water table) Wind
Social/cultural uses of heritage Changes in traditional ways of life and knowledge system Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation Indigenous hunting, gathering and collecting Ritual / spiritual / religious and associative uses Society's valuing of heritage
Other human activities Civil unrest Deliberate destruction of heritage Illegal activities Military training Terrorism War
Climate change and severe weather events Changes to oceanic waters Desertification Drought Flooding Other climate change impacts Storms Temperature change
Sudden ecological or geological events Avalanche/ landslide Earthquake Erosion and siltation/ deposition Fire (widlfires) Tsunami/tidal wave Volcanic eruption
Invasive/alien species or hyper-abundant species Hyper-abundant species Invasive / alien freshwater species Invasive / alien marine species Invasive/alien terrestrial species Modified genetic material Translocated species
Management and institutional factors Financial resources Governance High impact research / monitoring activities Human resources Legal framework Low impact research / monitoring activities Management activities Management systems/ management plan

Useful tools and Guidance

Guidance and Advice notes
Resource Manuals
World Heritage Paper Series
Some useful Recommendations / Policies /
Strategies and Statements

Recommendation concerning the Protection, at National Level, of the Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972)

Policy Document for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention (2015)

Policy Document on Impacts of Climate Change and World Heritage (2007)

Strategy for Reducing Risks from Disasters at World Heritage properties (2007)

Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, including a glossary of definitions (2011)

International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) - Mining and protected areas; Position statement (2003)

Reporting formats

Format for the submission of State of conservation reports
by the States Parties
Other useful online tools

InforMEA (United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements)
Arches : Heritage Inventory & Management System
IUCN World Heritage Outlook
UNEP & IUCN World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)
Ramsar Sites Information Service

Partners

Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee

ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)
ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

Other UNESCO Conventions and Programmes

Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and its Second Protocol (1999)
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970)
Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation (1978)
Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001)
Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003)
UNESCO Global Geoparks 
Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

Other conventions and agreements

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) 
Ramsar (Convention on Wetlands)
International Whaling Commission (IWC)
Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA)
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) - Mining and Protected Areas

Donors


News (34)
Decisions
  • Decision 43COM 8C.3 Show
  • Decision 43COM 7.1 Show
  • Decision 43COM 7.2 Show
  • Decision 43COM 7.3 Show
  • Decision 42COM 7 Show
  • Decision 41COM 7 Show
  • Decision 40COM 7 Show
  • Decision 39COM 7 Show
  • Decision 38COM 7 Show
  • Decision 37COM 7C Show
  • Decision 36COM 7C Show
  • Decision 35COM 7C Show
  • Decision 35COM 12E Show
  • Decision 34COM 7C Show
  • Decision 33COM 7C Show
  • Decision 32COM 7B.129 Show
  • Decision 31COM 7B.131 Show
  • Decision 30COM 7B.100 Show
  • Decision 29COM 7B.c Show
  • Decision 29COM 7C Show
  • Decision 27COM 7B.106 Show
  • Decision 27COM 7B.107 Show
  • Decision 26COM 21 Show
  • Decision 26COM 21.3 Show