Protecting our World heritage: The insurance industry’s commitment to protect World Heritage Sites

Protecting our world heritage

The insurance industry’s commitment to protect World Heritage Sites

The global context Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.

1

Our cultural and natural heritage are sources of life and inspiration, and arepriceless and irreplaceable assets, not only of each nation, but of humanity as a whole. The loss, through deterioration or disappearance, of any of these most prized assets constitutes an impoverishment of

the heritage of all the peoples of the world.”

2

Many of the world’s most famous places those with unparalleled natural and cultural beauty significance and/or

biological diversities such as the Galápagos Islands, the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Pyramids of Egypt have been designated as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

World Heritage Convention

.

These places are recognised globally for their outstanding universal

value

, which is defined as

“cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to

transcend nat

ional boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations

of all humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to

the international community as a whole.