Abstract
This essay aims at understanding what the issues in the management of the World Heritage Sites are, through the examples of the walled city of Carcassonne and Mont Saint Michel and its bay. The historical developments, the demands of a heritage site, and obviously the key operational issues in World Heritage Sites management, will be analyzed by discussing different points of view.
The United Nations for Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was born on November 16, 1945. The organization set itself a wide-ranging and ambitious target: "build peace in the mind of men through education, culture and communication" (UNESCO, 1945).
The "convention about the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage", was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. This Convention defined World Heritage Sites as "unique sites of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art, or science". In 2006, 830 World Heritage sites were listed of which 644 were cultural, 162 natural, and 24 mixed properties. These sites are spread in 138 States. Since 1978 (date of the first nomination), there have been around 20 to 30 new nominations per year. Far from showing any signs of stopping, nominations tend to multiply.
