The World Heritage Convention's Impact on Local Communities: Can We Utilize the U.S. Historic Preservation Approach for the World Heritage Program?

Abstract

Many countries try to obtain sustainable community development by participating in the World Heritage Convention, particularly when they discovered that the World Heritage Program is a useful tool for developing cultural recognition as well as for addressing challenging problems related to over successful tourism. While the World Heritage Convention is not generally known in the United States, the country has recently increased their involvement in the World Heritage Convention after rejoining UNESCO. In this paper, first, I will describe how the World Heritage Program is useful for community development, but will also explain the World Heritage‟s negative impacts of successful tourism on local communities through analysis of a case study: Lijiang, China. Next, I will illustrate the possibilities for the future of the World Heritage program with the U.S.‟s renewed participation as a solution for negative impacts local communities. Finally, I will recommend the importance of historic preservation in terms of international cooperation.