Valuing natural heritage: park visitors' values related to World Heritage sites in the USA

Abstract

The World Heritage Convention rests on the assumption that World Heritage sites hold value for people globally and that these values promote protection of sites. This study focuses on natural sites, selected for environmental significance. All World Heritage sites are also supposed to be of ‘outstanding universal value’, with a variety of values attributed to them in World Heritage and other documents, including aesthetic, cultural and spiritual values. This study investigates via a survey whether such values are recognized by visitors to natural sites in the USA, and how useful they are for generating support for sites. Most visitors appreciated sites primarily for their environmental importance; a minority recognized other values listed in World Heritage documents, even though most visitors had little understanding of the Convention itself. In general, recognition of World Heritage status did not translate into greater protection or support for sites beyond what they already receive as national parks, even though most visitors and park personnel were supportive of World Heritage goals. For a minority of visitors, the global framework in which the World Heritage Convention operates had negative connotations, owing to questions of how ultimate responsibility for sites should be divided between national and international scales.