Learning Exercise
Why Is This Place on the World Heritage List? Criteria, Danger and Delisting
Students use the free interactive World Heritage Map to find out how a place earns World Heritage status. They compare the ten selection criteria, explore sites in danger and the few sites that were removed from the list, and finish by preparing a short nomination for a place they know. The map works in any browser without an account; every site has its own page with the year of inscription, criteria, countries and status.
- Material:
- World Heritage Map – Free Interactive Map of World Heritage Sites
- Date last modified:
- November 11, 2026
- Created by:
- Maciej Włodarczak
- License:
-
World Heritage Map is a free interactive world map for exploring UNESCO World Heritage Sites and discovering cultural... see more
Exercise
- Explore (10 min). Open https://heritagemap.ominuvo.com. Use the filters to show cultural, natural and mixed sites. Which world regions have the most sites? Write down one surprise.
- Criteria (15 min). Open the criteria pages (https://heritagemap.ominuvo.com/criterion/i to /criterion/x). In pairs, choose two criteria – one cultural (i–vi) and one natural (vii–x) – and find two sites listed under each. Explain in one sentence what each criterion protects.
- Sites in danger (10 min). Open https://heritagemap.ominuvo.com/in-danger. Pick one site and read its page: since when is it in danger, and what could the reasons be (conflict, natural disasters, development, tourism, climate change)?
- Removed from the list (5 min). Open https://heritagemap.ominuvo.com/delisted. Only a few sites have ever been delisted. Choose one and discuss: what does it mean for a place to lose this status?
- Change over time (5 min). Open https://heritagemap.ominuvo.com/year/1978 to see the first inscriptions, then press play on the main map's timeline to watch the list grow. How has the list changed since 1978?
- Nomination (homework or 15 min). Choose a place in your own region that is not on the list. Using at least one criterion, write a short nomination (100–150 words) explaining why it deserves protection. Optional: finish with the quiz at https://heritagemap.ominuvo.com/quiz ("Where is this site?").
Disciplines
Audience
Technical Notes
Free, no login, no ads. Each site has a page with year of inscription, criteria, countries and status, and the same data is available as lists and tables (screen-reader friendly). Data come from Wikidata (CC0) with links to the official World Heritage Centre records; photos from Wikimedia Commons with author and licence shown. The map can be downloaded as PNG for printed worksheets.
Requirements
A computer, tablet or phone with a modern web browser and internet access. No account, installation or plug-in is needed. Works with a keyboard and screen readers (see the accessibility statement on the site). Available in English and Polish.
Topics
World Heritage Sites; cultural and natural heritage; heritage protection; sites in danger; delisting; selection criteria; cultural landscapes; geography of tourism and conservation
Type of Task
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- distinguish cultural, natural and mixed World Heritage Sites;
- explain at least two of the ten selection criteria with examples;
- identify threats that put heritage sites in danger;
- describe how the list has changed since 1978;
- argue, using a criterion, why a place deserves protection.
Assessment
- Pair work: correct examples for two criteria (one cultural, one natural) with a one-sentence explanation each.
- Short answers on one endangered site: duration and likely causes.
- Nomination text (100–150 words) graded with a simple rubric: criterion correctly applied (2 pts), evidence about the place (2 pts), clear argument (1 pt).
- Optional: quiz score.