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The Work of UNESCO and the International Development
Agenda (Agenda 2030)
Mexico has been very active on international environmental forums, especially in
the environmental conservation ones. The most important forum is the Earth Summit
in 1972, the first international statement that has recognized environmental goods as
world heritage, like all goods, such as air, water and forests, among others; these
goods are subject to common law, but also impose a universal duty of protection and
care, as Zortea and Lucatello (2016) establish. Nowadays, at the international level,
there are numerous Treaties and Programs that Mexico has ratified, among which
some are related to two worldwide movements: the preservation of cultural sites and
the ones that demand the preservation of nature.
The relevance of the following section is the emphasis of the international narrative of development and conservation, and its inherent link with the current 2030
Agenda, which highlights social problems that cross-address many environmental
issues, both in interrelated processes to achieve sustainable development. (To learn
more about environmental mainstreaming in projects derived from international
conventions and international cooperation, see Zortea and Lucatello 2016.) In this
regard, UNESCO has promoted a series of Treaties and Programs to support these
issues of global interest, among those that stand out for this chapter: the Convention
concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (also referred
to as the World Heritage Convention), since the category of Mixed Properties the
inescapable link between Culture and Nature.
The cultural and natural heritage is part of the incalculable and irreplaceable
Property, not only of each nation but also of all humanity. That is why the loss of
one of the most precious assets, as a result of its degradation or disappearance, is an
impoverishment of the heritage of all the peoples in the world. It can be considered
that one of the elements of this heritage due to its remarkable qualities has an
Outstanding Universal Vale (OUV) and therefore deserves special protection against
the growing dangers that threaten them (CONANP-INAH 2016).
In order to achieve the protection of the cultural and natural heritage, the General
Conference of UNESCO approved on November 16th, 1972, the World Heritage
Convention that until 2019 has been ratified by 193 States Parties (Countries). It is
one of the legal instruments for the rescue, preservation, and safeguard of the heritage of humanity (WHC 2018) and aims to identify, protect, preserve, revalue, and
transmit to future generations the cultural and natural heritage of outstanding
universal value (OUV) at a worldwide level which is established under ten criteria
(six cultural and four natural), the conditions of integrity and/or authenticity, protection and management that the site has and guarantees the safeguarding.
In Mexico, the Supreme Law is at the same level as the Political Constitution of
the United Mexican States, so its compliance is an obligation of the Government of
Mexico. UNESCO has considered necessary to focus its work on the social bases,
that is, on the culture of men and women. The General Director of UNESCO, Irina
Bokova, pointed the need to strengthen its labor to unleash full potential of human
ingenuity as a source of resilience in a tie of change, as well as a source of creativity
L. Vera and S. García
The Work of UNESCO and the International Development
Agenda (Agenda 2030)
Mexico has been very active on international environmental forums, especially in
the environmental conservation ones. The most important forum is the Earth Summit
in 1972, the first international statement that has recognized environmental goods as
world heritage, like all goods, such as air, water and forests, among others; these
goods are subject to common law, but also impose a universal duty of protection and
care, as Zortea and Lucatello (2016) establish. Nowadays, at the international level,
there are numerous Treaties and Programs that Mexico has ratified, among which
some are related to two worldwide movements: the preservation of cultural sites and
the ones that demand the preservation of nature.
The relevance of the following section is the emphasis of the international narrative of development and conservation, and its inherent link with the current 2030
Agenda, which highlights social problems that cross-address many environmental
issues, both in interrelated processes to achieve sustainable development. (To learn
more about environmental mainstreaming in projects derived from international
conventions and international cooperation, see Zortea and Lucatello 2016.) In this
regard, UNESCO has promoted a series of Treaties and Programs to support these
issues of global interest, among those that stand out for this chapter: the Convention
concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (also referred
to as the World Heritage Convention), since the category of Mixed Properties the
inescapable link between Culture and Nature.
The cultural and natural heritage is part of the incalculable and irreplaceable
Property, not only of each nation but also of all humanity. That is why the loss of
one of the most precious assets, as a result of its degradation or disappearance, is an
impoverishment of the heritage of all the peoples in the world. It can be considered
that one of the elements of this heritage due to its remarkable qualities has an
Outstanding Universal Vale (OUV) and therefore deserves special protection against
the growing dangers that threaten them (CONANP-INAH 2016).
In order to achieve the protection of the cultural and natural heritage, the General
Conference of UNESCO approved on November 16th, 1972, the World Heritage
Convention that until 2019 has been ratified by 193 States Parties (Countries). It is
one of the legal instruments for the rescue, preservation, and safeguard of the heritage of humanity (WHC 2018) and aims to identify, protect, preserve, revalue, and
transmit to future generations the cultural and natural heritage of outstanding
universal value (OUV) at a worldwide level which is established under ten criteria
(six cultural and four natural), the conditions of integrity and/or authenticity, protection and management that the site has and guarantees the safeguarding.
In Mexico, the Supreme Law is at the same level as the Political Constitution of
the United Mexican States, so its compliance is an obligation of the Government of
Mexico. UNESCO has considered necessary to focus its work on the social bases,
that is, on the culture of men and women. The General Director of UNESCO, Irina
Bokova, pointed the need to strengthen its labor to unleash full potential of human
ingenuity as a source of resilience in a tie of change, as well as a source of creativity
L. Vera and S. García