The ‘Tentative List’ and World Heritage Nomination Process
Nomination for World Heritage status is a proactive process requiring the input of considerable resources.
Countries that have ratified the World Heritage Convention are able to submit nomination proposals for properties in their territory to be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Nomination for World Heritage status is a proactive process requiring the input of considerable resources. It is a joint undertaking between those responsible for management of the property, Government, and local communities.
Responsibilities of World Heritage Status
Both the nomination process and ongoing management requirements are costly. Potential applicants should carefully consider the ongoing protection and management responsibilities associated with inscription on the World Heritage List and how these would be resourced prior to making any application.
Inscription on the World Heritage List carries responsibilities for the protection of the property's Outstanding Universal Value in perpetuity. Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention recognises "the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations" of World Heritage properties.
To ensure effective protection, each property must have an appropriate management plan or other documented management system (see the Protection and Management page for more details). Properties are also required to participate in reporting and monitoring processes as requested by the World Heritage Committee. Please refer to pages on Protection and Management and Reporting and Monitoring Mechanisms for more information on the requirements for inscribed properties.
Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List
The Global Strategy adopted by the World Heritage Committee seeks to ensure the World Heritage List reflects the diversity of the world’s cultural and natural outstanding universal value.
As part of this strategy, States Parties that already have significant representation on the list are requested to slow down their rate of submission of further nominations to address the imbalance of the List.
Chronological, geographical and thematic analyses have also identified gaps in the World Heritage List which there have been calls to rebalance. The current strategy for UK nominations is to focus on areas currently underrepresented on the global list, including natural heritage and sites in UK Overseas Territories or Crown Dependencies.
The UK will also continue and expand its offer to support other States Parties developing nominations, with a focus on countries currently underrepresented on the World Heritage List, or who have less capacity or expertise, such as Small Island Developing States, to develop their nominations.
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The UK Nomination Process
The nomination process is a multi-stage process, as follows:
- Review and Confirmation of the UK Tentative List
- Upstream Process (optional, as this is designed for more challenging nominations and in practice is not usually relevant to UK sites)
- UNESCO Preliminary Assessment
- UK Technical Evaluation
- Assessment by Advisory Bodies
- World Heritage Committee decision
1. Review and Confirmation of the UK Tentative List
As part of its obligation to identify properties that may merit World Heritage status, each State Party produces a 'Tentative List'. This is an inventory of those properties which the State Party intends to consider for nomination to the World Heritage List. In line with the Global Strategy (see above), the most recent UK Tentative List included only 5 new sites (bringing it to a total of 7), and the UK State Party intends to continue with a small number of sites for future Tentative Lists.
States Parties are encouraged to review and re-submit their Tentative List at least every 10 years. The World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for inscription unless a property is already on a Tentative List. Sites on the previous Tentative List that have not yet progressed to nomination must reapply for inclusion on the new Tentative List.
The UK State Party most recently reviewed the UK Tentative List in 2022/23. The final list was comprised of:
- Birkenhead the People's Park (Cultural site)
- East Atlantic Flyway – England East Coast Wetlands (Natural site)
- The Flow Country (Natural site)
- Gracehill Moravian Church Settlements (Cultural, Transnational site)
- Little Cayman Marine Parks and Protected Areas (Natural site)
- York (Cultural site)
- The Zenith of Iron Age Shetland (Cultural site)
The Flow Country and Gracehill Moravian Church Settlements were previously on the 2012 Tentative List and were included on the 2023 Tentative List as their nominations were being finalised. Both sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List, at 46COM (2024).
Creswell Crags, a site with evidence of Palaeolithic populations during the Ice Age, was proposed as the lead of a European transnational nomination. There was insufficient information about the other component sites for inclusion in the 2023 Tentative List. However, as the site was included in the 2012 Tentative List as a stand-alone site, it has been invited to return once the transnational bid has been further developed to be considered for inclusion prior to the next Tentative List review.
For the 2022/23 Tentative List review, to be considered for inclusion on the list, sites first submitted Expressions of Interest forms, followed by full application forms. Full applications were then assessed by a panel of independent experts appointed by the government.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published the full UK Government response to the 2022/23 review.
In line with UNESCO's Global Strategy, the following assessment criteria were agreed to guide the 2022/23 Independent Expert Panel:
- Inscription would support one or more of the UK's priority areas: natural sites, mixed sites, sites in overseas territories
- Inscription would address a particular gap or underrepresented area or theme on the World Heritage List
- Every site would need to demonstrate significant potential for OUV
The next UK Tentative List Review is not expected to take place until at least 2033. DCMS will confirm and widely communicate the approach and process for updating the Tentative List.
UK Components of Transnational Sites
The addition of transnational sites to the current list is possible outside of the standard timeframe. Since 2011 it has been State Party policy to consider transnational sites for inclusion on the UK Tentative List outside of the formal review schedule in instances where the transnational nomination is being led by another State Party.
If a comparative analysis from the lead State Party demonstrates the potential of a UK component to contribute to the OUV of a transnational nomination, the UK State Party can submit the component to the UK Tentative List outside of the formal review process. UK sites wishing to lead a transnational nomination should apply as part of the formal Tentative List review process.
Further information regarding transnational nominations and the process for UK component sites, is available from the UK Government: Guidance for UK components of a transboundary or serial transnational future nomination.
2. Upstream Process (optional)
The Upstream Process comprises advice, consultation and analysis on the technical merit of a nomination prior to the preparation of a nomination dossier. The process enables Advisory Bodies and the Secretariat to provide advance support directly to States Parties, ideally beginning during the preparation of the States Parties’ Tentative List. Advice may be desk-based or may involve a site visit and/or workshop (Operational Guidelines, Paragraph 121).
This process was introduced in 2010 with the aim of reducing problems encountered during the nomination process, and to avoid significant resource investment in a nomination where the proposed site does not demonstrate potential for justifying OUV. It is an optional part of the nomination process.
The Upstream Process request form is available on the UNESCO website. Requests must be submitted by 31 March each year, and if the number of requests exceeds capacity, requests will be prioritised according to the system outlined in Paragraph 61.c of the Operational Guidelines.
3. UNESCO Preliminary Assessment
Preliminary Assessment is a mandatory desk-based review carried out by UNESCO for all sites seeking nomination to the World Heritage List. This process is undertaken by ICOMOS and IUCN, on a joint basis when relevant, when requested by the State(s) Party(ies). No site visits are undertaken as part of this phase. The assessment will indicate whether the site may have potential to meet the criteria for OUV and, if so, will provide specific advice to the State(s) Part(ies) on the development of a nomination dossier.
Currently, sites must be on the Tentative List for a minimum of 1 year prior to applying for Preliminary Assessment. States Parties are responsible for requesting this assessment, in a standard format (available in Annex 3 of the Operational Guidelines).
A Preliminary Assessment report will be provided via the World Heritage Centre and remains relevant for the following 5 years. If a nomination is not submitted by 1 February in the fifth year following assessment, a new Preliminary Assessment must be undertaken.
Further detail on the Preliminary Assessment is provided in Paragraph 122 of the Operational Guidelines.
For sites working with the UK State Party to prepare a Preliminary Assessment request, the template request format is available below.
4. UK Technical Evaluation
The 'Format for the nomination of properties for inscription on the World Heritage List' (PDF) sets out the requested format for a nomination dossier.
When a draft nomination dossier has been completed, UK sites will be invited to take part in a Technical Evaluation. This measure was introduced in 2011, on the recommendation of a review panel for the Tentative List, to test the strength and viability of a nomination and provide feedback.
The UK Government will invite an independent expert panel to assess the draft nomination dossier. The panel will provide feedback to both the site and the State Party regarding the readiness of the site for nomination.
5. Assessment by Advisory Bodies
Once a site has passed UK Technical Evaluation, the nomination dossier can be submitted by the State Party (represented by DCMS) to the World Heritage Centre for review and confirmation that the dossier is complete. This submission can take place at least 1 year following the receipt of the Preliminary Assessment report and should follow the format requested by the World Heritage Committee, as referred to above (UK Technical Evaluation).
Once the nomination has been accepted as complete, UNESCO will share the dossier for assessment by 1 of the 2 expert Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Convention (ICOMOS and IUCN), or both in the case of a mixed property. This assessment includes a site visit.
The Advisory Bodies will then provide an evaluation report with a draft decision on whether to inscribe the site on the World Heritage List. This will be published prior to the next session of the World Heritage Committee.
6. World Heritage Committee decision
The final decision regarding the inscription of a nominated property is made by the World Heritage Committee based on the report and recommendations provided by the relevant Advisory Body(ies) at its annual committee meeting (usually June/July).
Sites may be inscribed, or a decision can be referred/deferred with more information requested from the State Party, or on some occasions be not recommended for inscription altogether.
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