An explanation of some of the common World Heritage related terms used in this website. Antonine Wall The Roman Empire frontier system running across central Scotland from the Firth of Forth to the Clyde Estuary, constructed c AD 142 on the orders of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. Inscribed as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site in July 2008. Authenticity Depending on the type of cultural heritage, and its cultural context, properties may be understood to meet the conditions of authenticity if their cultural values (as recognised in the nomination criteria proposed) are truthfully and credibly expressed through a variety of attributes including: form and design; materials and substance; use and function; traditions, techniques and management systems; location and setting; language, and other forms of intangible heritage; spirit and feeling; and other internal and external factors. Biodiversity The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable. Buffer Zone For the purposes of effective protection of the nominated property, a buffer zone is an area surrounding the nominated property which has complementary legal and/or customary restrictions placed on its use and development to give an added layer of protection to the property. This should include the immediate setting of the nominated property, important views and other areas or attributes that are functionally important as a support to the property and its protection. The area constituting the buffer zone should be determined in each case through appropriate mechanisms. Criteria for selection of World Heritage Sites To be included on the World Heritage List, Sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage. The criteria are regularly revised by the Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself. Earthwork A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. Ecosystems A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Ecosystems are defined by the network of interactions among organisms, and between organisms and their environment. Ecosystem services can be defined as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Environmental Report An Environmental Report is the culmination of a Strategic Environmental Assessment. It sets out how the plan has been assessed, and how that assessment has influenced plan-making process (usually through recommended changes or mitigation). Consultation on an Environmental Report, alongside consultation on the plan itself, is a formal stage required for all plans likely to have significant environmental effects. Geodiversity Geodiversity is the variety of rocks, minerals, fossils, landforms, sediments and soils, together with the natural processes which form and alter them. German Limes (Obergermanisch Raetische Limes) The Roman frontier system developed under the Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius between the Rhine and the Danube in south-western Germany, inscribed as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site in 2005. Governance Model A governance model sets out the way an organisation is steered and controlled identifying, for example, roles and responsibilities as well as reporting and management structures. Hadrian’s Wall The complex of frontier systems originally built on the orders of Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 and including its subsequent Roman modifications. Also used to refer to the linear stone and earthwork barrier itself. The Site was originally inscribed in 1987, becoming part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site in 2005. ICOMOS The International Council on Monuments and Sites, a non-governmental organization, was founded in 1965 after the adoption of the Charter of Venice, in order to promote the doctrine and the techniques of conservation. ICOMOS provides the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of properties with cultural values proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List, as well as with comparative studies, technical assistance and reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties. ICOMOS UK ICOMOS UK is the UK national committee of ICOMOS and is an independent charity that advises on aspects of World Heritage and sites for nomination across the UK. It promotes and supports best practice in the conservation, care and understanding of the historic environment. Inscription The formal process through which the World Heritage Committee decides whether a property should or should not be added to the World Heritage List. When deciding to inscribe a property on the World Heritage List, the Committee, guided by the Advisory Bodies, adopts a Statement of Outstanding Universal Value for the property. At the time of inscription, the Committee may also make other recommendations concerning the protection and management of the World Heritage property. Intangible heritage Intangible cultural heritage is the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage. Also called living cultural heritage, it is usually expressed in one of the following forms: oral traditions; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship. Integrity Integrity is a measure of the wholeness and intactness of the natural and/or cultural heritage and its attributes. Examining the conditions of integrity, therefore requires assessing the extent to which the property: includes all elements necessary to express its Outstanding Universal Value; is of adequate size to ensure the complete representation of the features and processes which convey the property’s significance; suffers from adverse effects of development and/or neglect. Landscape Character The distinct and recognisable pattern of elements that occurs consistently in a particular type of landscape. LiDAR Survey Light Detection And Ranging Survey is undertaken by attaching a 3D laser scanner to an aircraft or helicopter. A cloud of measurement points across the landscape is produced as the laser-beam is fired at the ground and measured when it is reflected back to the sensor on the scanner on board the aircraft. Detailed terrain models can then be produced from this data, allowing mapping and identification of archaeological features, even those which are barely visible above ground. Limes The Latin term for ‘frontier’. Nomination Countries (or States Parties) that have signed the World Heritage Convention, pledging to protect their natural and cultural heritage, can submit nomination proposals for properties on their territory to be considered for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Nominations to the World Heritage List are not considered unless the nominated property has already been included on the State Party’s Tentative List. If the Committee determines, based on the recommendations of its Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS and IUCN), that the nomination meets at least one of the necessary criteria, then the property proposed by the State Party is inscribed on the World Heritage List. Outstanding Universal Value Outstanding Universal Value means cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national 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. At the time of inscription of a property on the World Heritage List, the World Heritage Committee adopts a Statement of Outstanding Universal Value which will be the key reference for the future effective protection and management of the property. Partner Organisations that have formally agreed to work together to deliver the WHS management plan. Periodic Reporting States Parties are requested to submit reports, every six years, to the UNESCO General Conference through the World Heritage Committee on the legislative and administrative provisions they have adopted and other actions which they have taken for the application of the Convention, including the state of conservation of the World Heritage properties located on their territories. Periodic Reporting serves four main purposes: to provide an assessment of the application of the World Heritage Convention by the State Party; to provide an assessment as to whether the Outstanding Universal Value of the properties inscribed on the World Heritage List is being maintained over time; to provide up-dated information about the World Heritage properties to record the changing circumstances and state of conservation of the properties; to provide a mechanism for regional cooperation and exchange of information and experiences between States Parties concerning the implementation of the Convention and World Heritage conservation. Scottish Ten The Scottish Ten is a five-year project using cutting edge 3D technologies to create exceptionally accurate digital models of Scotland’s five World Heritage Sites and five international heritage sites in order to better conserve and manage them. It primarily uses 3D laser scanning to record sites on the ground and from the air (see LiDAR Survey). Serial Property Serial properties include two or more component parts related by clearly defined links. Component parts should reflect cultural, social or functional links over time that provide, where relevant, landscape, ecological, evolutionary or habitat connectivity. Each component part should contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property as a whole in a substantial, scientific, readily defined and discernible way, and may include, amongst other things, intangible attributes. The resulting Outstanding Universal Value should be easily understood and communicated. A serial nominated property may occur on the territory of a single State Party (serial national property); or within the territory of different States Parties, which need not be contiguous (serial transnational property). Significance Importance, distinctiveness, why a place is valued. Stakeholder A person/organisation/business with an interest or concern in the WHS. States Parties States Parties are countries which have ratified the World Heritage Convention. They identify and nominate sites on their national territory to be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List. States Parties have the responsibility to protect the World Heritage values of the sites inscribed and report periodically on their condition. Strategic and Local Development Plans Strategic Development Plans are prepared by ‘Strategic Development Planning Authorities’ (SDPAs) to cover the four largest city regions around Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Strategic Development Plan is a ‘visionary’ document which sets out a long-term strategy for the development of the city region so that it can be used when preparing Local Development Plans. Local Development Plans cover a smaller area than Strategic Development Plans and are more detailed in terms of policies and land uses. They include a spatial strategy and a vision statement outside SDP areas. For example, they will identify the locations for housing, business and retail development. All planning authorities are required to produce a Local Development Plan, which must cover the whole of the authority area. This includes authorities who are covered by a Strategic Development Plan. A planning authority may also produce more than one Local Development Plan if it is required for a different purpose, such as a Minerals Plan. Strategic Environmental Assessment Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a systematic process for identifying, predicting, reporting, mitigating and monitoring the environmental effects (positive and negative) of plans, programmes, strategies and policies (abbreviated to PPS). SEA applies to all public bodies, and aims to ensure that information on the significant environmental effects of a PPS is available to decision makers, so that they can make a decision in full knowledge of the environmental effects. SEA is not separate from the PPS-making process, and should be thought of as a tool that can be used to help influence and improve it. Sustainable Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level. In the context of sustainable development and management, it can be described as meeting ‘the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (Brundtland Commission, United Nations, 1983). Sustainability Checklist A checklist containing a series of questions which can be applied to a proposed action or project, to ensure that all localised environmental effects are identified and considered, before choosing any given option. The checklist can also be used to identify options for the mitigation of potential environmental effects. Tentative List The first step a States Party must take in proposing a site for the World Heritage List is to make an ‘inventory’ of the important natural and cultural heritage sites located within its boundaries, that it considers to be of outstanding universal value. This is known as the Tentative List, and provides a forecast of the properties that a State Party may decide to submit for inscription in the next five to ten years and which may be updated at any time. It is an important step since the World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for inscription on the World Heritage List unless the property has already been included on the State Party’s Tentative List. Transboundary/Transnational Property A nominated property may occur on the territory of all concerned States Parties having adjacent borders. Extensions to an existing World Heritage property located in one State Party may be proposed to become transboundary properties. UNESCO The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945. UNESCO has 195 Members and eight Associate Members. As defined by the Constitution, the purpose of the Organization is: ‘to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations’. World Heritage Centre The World Heritage Centre is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Convention and for the administration of the World Heritage Fund. World Heritage Committee The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected for terms up to six years. The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, allocates financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund and has the final say on whether a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed sites and decides on the inscription or removal of Sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. World Heritage Convention The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international agreement that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. It is based on the premise that certain places on Earth are of outstanding universal value and should therefore form part of the common heritage of mankind. The countries who ratify the Convention (States Parties) have become part of an international community, united in a common mission to identify and safeguard our world’s most outstanding natural and cultural heritage. While fully respecting the national sovereignty, and without prejudice to property rights provided by national legislation, the States Parties recognize that the protection of the World Heritage is the duty of the international community as a whole. The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is a treaty that has become, over the past 30 years, the foremost international legal tool in support of the conservation of the world’s cultural and natural heritage. Today, 187 countries (called States Parties) have ratified the Convention, making it an almost universally accepted set of principles and framework of action. World Heritage List In general, the World Heritage Committee adds about 25-30 Sites per year to the list. Today there are 911 Sites on the list, located in 151 countries around the world.