The event that brought the need to protect world heritage to the attention of the world was the building, in 1959, of the Aswan High Dam. The dam would result in the flooding of the valley that was home to the Abu Simbel temples. These temples were a historic treasure to modern Egypt and the world. After several appeals by the governments of both Egypt and the Sudan, UNESCO began a campaign to safeguard these temples. Archaeological research in the area to be flooded became of prime importance. The temples of Abu Simbel and Philae were carefully dismantled, moved to high ground and reassembled. The resulting press, both written and televised, created a tourist boom for the region and an awareness of the importance of preserving our heritage for the generations to come. Over 50 nations contributed to the fund to save the temples showing the solidarity of the world and confirming the shared responsibility that we all have to our collective heritage. UNESCO, along with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), prepared a draft convention on the protection of our cultural heritage.

            In 1965, a White House Conference in Washington, DC, USA, called for the formation of a “World Heritage Trust” to preserve and protect, “the world’s superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry”.  In 1968 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) created a proposal that was designed to protect natural sites. Both this proposals were presented, in 1972, to the United Nations conference on Human Environment in Stockholm.  These two proposals were combined into a single one and the resulting proposal was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on November 16, 1972.

            Since its founding the list of cultural and natural sites that are protected by UNESCO has grown to 851 worldwide. There are 660 cultural sites, 166 natural sites, and 25 mixed sites located all the world over.  

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            Click on the following links to see all 851 Heritage sites listed in alphabetical order by the country in which they can be found. How many have you visited? Which ones are near your? Which heritage sites would you like to visit?