List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Southeast_Asia

List of World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia

List of World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia

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The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has designated 45 World Heritage Sites in nine countries (also called "State parties") of Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Only Brunei and Timor-Leste (East Timor) lack World Heritage Sites.[1][2]

Indonesia lead the list with ten inscribed sites, followed by Vietnam with eight inscribed sites, with Thailand has seven, the Philippines six, Cambodia and Malaysia four each, Laos three, Myanmar two, and Singapore one.[3] The first sites from the region were inscribed at the 15th session of the World Heritage Committee in 1991.[4] The latest site inscribed are Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar in Cambodia, the Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments in Thailand, and the Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks in Indonesia, inscribed in the 45th session of the Committee in 2023.[5] Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites or delist those no longer meeting the criteria, the selection based on ten criteria of which six stand for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x);[6] some sites are "mixed" and represent both types of heritage. In Southeast Asia, there are 30 cultural, 14 natural and 1 mixed sites.[3]

The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." One site in this region, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, is listed as endangered; Angkor and Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were once listed but were taken off in 2004 and 2012 respectively.

By comparison with other world regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Central America, and Western Europe, the designation of UNESCO sites in the Southeast Asian region has been regarded as 'too few and too slow' since the inception of the 21st century. Scholars from various Southeast Asian nations have suggested for the establishment of an inclusive Southeast Asian body that will cater to the gaps of the region's activities in UNESCO as the majority of nations in the region are underperforming in the majority of the lists adopted by UNESCO, notably the World Heritage List.

Legend

The table is sortable by column by clicking on the at the top of the appropriate column; alphanumerically for the Site, Area, and Year columns; by state party for the Location column; and by criteria type for the Criteria column. Transborder sites sort at the bottom.
Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

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Site; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation[3]
Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates
Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee[6]
Area; in hectares and acres. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A value of zero implies that no data has been published by UNESCO
Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List
Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable.

World Heritage Sites

  † In danger
More information Site, Image ...

Location of sites

Southeast Asia has the fewest UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, next to Central and North Asia, despite being the base of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific headquarters located in Bangkok, Thailand and having a diverse line of natural and cultural heritage sites. Due to this, numerous scholars have been calling on Southeast Asian governments to participate and nominate more sites in UNESCO annually.

Various institutions have also criticized UNESCO for its 'Europe-centric' designations. An example of which was when UNESCO declared 10 UNESCO sites in Italy (a European country) in just a single year (1997). During the same time, 8 sites were declared for the entire Asian continent, where no designated site was located in Southeast Asia at all.[57]

Green - Natural; Yellow - Cultural; Blue - Mixed; Red - In danger

Location of World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia

Performance of Southeast Asia in UNESCO

The performance of Southeast Asia is contrasted by the performance of South and East Asia. Southeast Asian countries are in blue.

UNESCO Tentative List of Southeast Asia

Brunei and Timor-Leste currently have no tentative list sites. Both Brunei and Timor-Leste are presently undergoing comprehensive research for tentative site submissions [citation needed]. The latest countries revised their tentative lists are Vietnam and Singapore in 2022, followed by Malaysia and Thailand last revised their tentative lists in 2021, Cambodia last revised in 2020, Laos last revised in 2019, Indonesia and Myanmar last revised in 2018, and the Philippines last revised in 2015. The following lists also include the current nomination process being focused on by each country.

See also

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    First inscription as Ha Long Bay. Extended inscription in 2000 to include natural criterion (i) (in present nomenclature criterion (vii)) and extended again in 2023 to include Cat Ba Archipelago and name change to the present name.
  2. [N 2]
    First inscription as Tubbataha Reef Marine Park. Extended in 2009 and name change to the present name.

References

  1. [1]
    "Number of World Heritage Properties by region". UNESCO. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  2. [2]
    "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings". Geographical region and composition of each region. United Nations Statistics Division. 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. [3]
    "World Heritage List". UNESCO. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  4. [4]
    "Number of World Heritage properties inscribed each Year". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  5. [5]
    "New Inscribed Properties 2023+2022". UNESCO. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  6. [6]
    "The Criteria for Selection". UNESCO. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  7. [7]
    "Angkor". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  8. [8]
    16th session 1992, pp. 37–38, annex VI
  9. [9]
    28th session 2004, pp. 66–67
  10. [10]
    "Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley". UNESCO. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  11. [11]
    "Bagan". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  12. [12]
    "Ban Chiang Archaeological Site". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  13. [13]
    "Baroque Churches of the Philippines". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  14. [14]
    "Borobudur Temple Compounds". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  15. [15]
    "Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  16. [16]
    "Citadel of the Ho Dynasty". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  17. [17]
    "Complex of Hué Monuments". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  18. [18]
    "Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy". UNESCO. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  19. [19]
    "Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  20. [20]
    "Gunung Mulu National Park". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  21. [21]
    "Ha Long Bay". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  22. [22]
    "Historic City of Ayutthaya". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  23. [23]
    "Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  24. [24]
    "Historic Town of Vigan". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  25. [25]
    "Hoi An Ancient Town". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  26. [26]
    "Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex". UNESCO. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  27. [27]
    "Kinabalu Park". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  28. [28]
    "Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar". UNESCO. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  29. [29]
    "Komodo National Park". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  30. [30]
    "Lorentz National Park". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  31. [31]
    "Seven cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  32. [32]
    "Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  33. [33]
    "Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary". UNESCO. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  34. [34]
    "My Son Sanctuary". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  35. [35]
    "Ombilin coal mine makes it into UNESCO World Heritage list". Antara News. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  36. [36]
    "Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  37. [37]
    "Prambanan Temple Compounds". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  38. [38]
    "Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  39. [39]
    "Pyu Ancient Cities". UNESCO. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  40. [40]
    "Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  41. [41]
    "Examination of nominations of cultural and natural properties to the List of World Heritage in Danger". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2001. pp. 139–141. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  42. [42]
    "Sangiran Early Man Site". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  43. [43]
    "Singapore Botanic Gardens". UNESCO. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  44. [44]
    "Temple of Preah Vihear". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  45. [45]
    "Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
  46. [46]
    "The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments". UNESCO. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  47. [47]
    "The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  48. [48]
    "Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  49. [49]
    "Town of Luang Prabang". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  50. [50]
    "Trang An Landscape Complex". UNESCO. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  51. [51]
    "Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra". UNESCO. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  52. [52]
    "Danger listing for Indonesia's Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra". UNESCO. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  53. [53]
    "Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  54. [54]
    "Decision - 33COM 8B.3 - Natural properties - Extension of properties already inscribed on the World Heritage List - Tubbataha Reef Marine Park (Philippines)". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  55. [55]
    "Ujung Kulon National Park". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  56. [56]
    "Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  57. [57]
    "UNESCO World Heritage Centre - World Heritage List". whc.unesco.org.
  58. [58]
    "'Tempo Doeloe' Coal Mine Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco".
  59. [59]
    "Lacking 'authenticity', Kota Tua fails to make UNESCO heritage list".
  60. [60]
    "Culture Ministry to Nominate Bagan, Mrauk U, Shwedagon for UNESCO Recognition". 29 June 2017.
  61. [61]
    "Mayon Volcano Natural Park on list of nominees for World Heritage Status". 28 April 2015.
  62. [62]
    "Tentative Lists of Thailand". UNESCO. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

General sources
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