World Heritage Sites in Latin America: Conservation and Management Under a Value-Based Approach

Since the approval, in 1972, of the World Convention on Cultural and Natural Heritage, until today, the Latin American continent has contributed to decentralizing the excessive primacy that the heritage assets of the regions of the developed world (Europe and the United States) had. Furthermore, it has attracted greater attention to the cultural diversities existing in the peripheral regions of the planet, which has allowed an enrichment of the categories and types of heritage. In a world of constant tension and change, between the pressures of global development, the inclemency of natural and human risks, and regional and local forces, World Heritage Sites are called to become spaces of enrichment of the multiple identities of the communities that give meaning to their places of roots. This type of property allows the resignification of people and communities with their changing natural, territorial, and landscape contexts, with ways of life and with social practices. It is for this reason that an adequate understanding of the role played by World Heritage Sites in the twenty-first century would allow us to face the urgent challenges of sustainable development, integrating the social, economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions of the Latin American region. This work reflects on the new paradigm that should guide the conservation and management of these heritage assets, a pending and deficient aspect in the regional reality. That is, under an approach based on the meanings and values ​​that the communities exercise as central actors in the process. Within the framework of this paradigm, the fundamental elements of a system of conservation and management of heritage assets are exposed. Among them, the work of monitoring and evaluating the state of conservation of its Universal and Exceptional Values, and its conditions of integrity and authenticity, stands out.