Misleading WHS Names

Connected Sites: 20

WHS whose official full name is misleading to the extent that a prospective visitor might "miss the point", by not recognizing its core zone and/or its OUV. It includes, but is not limited to, sites: - that are significantly smaller than they seem / where the name implies a grander scope than is inscribed. - where a Natural focus is implied, via the use of solely natural attributes (such as Archipelago, Caves, Valley) in its name, while it is a cultural WHS.

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Connected Sites

Upper Svaneti
Inscribed: 1996
3.89
108
5
Upper Svaneti Is A Historic Region Centered Around The Town Of Mestia, But This Site Covers Only One Village Some 2 Hours Drive Away. An Alternative Whs Name Could Be: "Chazhashi" (= The Name Of The Village).
Vegaøyan
Inscribed: 2004
2.56
49
6
This Does Not Cover The Full Archipelago, Especially Large Parts Of The Main Vega Island (Where You Will Arrive) Are Excluded. Also, The Title Has A ‘Natural’ Feel, While It Is A Cultural Landscape Focusing On The Local Lifestyle Of Fishing And Eider Down Harvesting. Suggestion For Alternative Name: "Cultural Landscape Of Vegaøyan".
Lower Valley of the Omo
Inscribed: 1980
3.42
43
4
The Geographical Scope Is Unclear Due To Lack Of Official Map, And Site Is Cultural While Natural Is Implied By Focus On The Valley. Suggestion For An Alternative Name: ‘Hominid Fossil Sites In The Lower Omo Valley’.
Yakushima
Inscribed: 1993
3.73
39
5
The Protected Area Only Covers The Higher Altitude Center Of The Island Plus Some Outlying Portions. A Better Name Would Be Something Like 'Yakushima Forest Reserve'.
Rio de Janeiro
Inscribed: 2012
3.61
263
6
The Majority Of Rio’S Built Environment Is Excluded - The Core Zone Is Limited To Natural Elements That Have Seen Human Intervention, Resulting In A 'Cultural Landscape'. The Flowery Subtitle 'Carioca Landscapes Between The Mountain And The Sea' Isn't Of Help. An Alternative Name Could Be Like 'Cultural Landscape Of Tijuca National Park And The Sugarloaf Mountain'.
Belize Barrier Reef
Inscribed: 1996
3.52
145
11
The Reef Is A Well-Distinguishable Feature That Can Be Seen All Along Belize’S Coast. But Only Seven Protected Sites (Covering 12% Of The Surface) Have Been Selected To Reflect The Whole. While The Addition Of 'Reserve System' To The Name Is An Indicator Of There Being Limitations, It Could Be Made More Clear That It Excludes The Popular Cayes ('Protected Areas Of Belize Barrier Reef')
Western Ghats
Inscribed: 2012
3.03
84
5
The Western Ghats Is A Huge Mountain Range; However, The Whs Is Limited To 37 Very Specific Parks And Reserves Which Require Some Effort And Formal Entry. Suggestion For Alternative Name: 'Western Ghats (Strictly) Protected Areas'.
Lake Malawi
Inscribed: 1984
3.13
51
4
The Whs Uses The Same Scoping As The National Park, But Both Cover Only The Southern Part Of The Lake; So Southern Lake Malawi Might Have Been A Better Name.
Pantanal
Pantanal
Brazil
Inscribed: 2000
3.69
58
2
This Site Covers Much Less Than The Region That Is Known As The Pantanal In Brazil, Bolivia And Paraguay (Only 1.3% Of Brazil's Pantanal!). Four Adjacent Nature Reserves/Parks That Are Seen As Representative Of The Whole Have Been Chosen. Although 'Conservation Zone' In The Full Name Is An Indicator Of Limitations, A More Precise Name Like 'Pantanal Matogrossense National Park And Adjoining Reserves' Would Be Welcome.
Val di Noto
Inscribed: 2002
3.37
247
11
Only Very Small Parts Of Modica And Scicli Towns And Catania Are Included, So The Name 'Baroque Towns' Seems To Be Overstating It. An Alternative Could Be 'Baroque Heritage Of The Val Di Noto'.
Sundarbans National Park
Inscribed: 1987
2.76
33
6
This Only Includes The Indian Side Of The Area, And Focuses On The Mangroves. A Better Name, As Suggested By Iucn In Its Evaluation, Could Have Been 'The Sundarbans Mangrove Reserves Of India'.
The Sundarbans
The Sundarbans
Bangladesh
Inscribed: 1997
2.82
34
2
This Only Includes The Bangladeshi Side Of The Area, And Focuses On The Mangroves. A Better Name, As Suggested By Iucn In Its Evaluation, Could Have Been 'The Sundarbans Mangrove Reserves Of Bangladesh'.
Land of Frankincense
Inscribed: 2000
2.81
78
10
Both Grandiose And Vague. An Alternative Name Could Be "Frankincense Sites Of Dhofar", To Reflect The Regional Limit And That These Are Mostly Archeological Sites.
Gorham's Cave Complex
Inscribed: 2016
2.18
96
9
This Is Not A Natural Whs And The Area Of Interest Also Goes Beyond Gorham's Cave. The Original Name 'Gibraltar Neanderthal Caves And Environments' (Or Without 'And Environments') Would Have Been Much Better, But Spain Objected.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Germany, United Kingdom
Inscribed: 1987
2.82
448
19
This Whs Only Covers A Tiny Part Of The Frontiers Of The Roman Empire, Which Stretch All Around Europe And The Mediterranean. Also, Other Roman Frontiers Have Been Inscribed As Separate Whs. 'Limes Of The British Isles' Could Have Been A Good Alternative Here, However, A Stretch In Germany Is Included As Well Which Is Known As The Upper German-Raetian Limes.
Lower Valley of the Awash
Inscribed: 1980
2.78
16
3
The Geographical Scope Is Unclear Due To The Lack Of An Official Map, And The Site Is Cultural While Natural Is Implied By Focus On The Valley. Suggestion For An Alternative Name: ‘Hominid Fossil Sites In The Lower Valley Of The Awash’.
Great Wall
Inscribed: 1987
4.44
492
14
Remains Of The Great Wall Can Be Seen At Numerous Places Along Its 6,000km Long Northern Stretch. However, The Whs Is Limited To The Beginning And The End, Plus The Popular Badaling Section Near Beijing. This Discrepancy Was Noted By Icomos Before Inscription ("The Present Proposal May, In Fact, Be Taken In Various Ways. This Will Inevitably Bring About Conflicts In The Short Term As To The Definition Of The Property") China Answered That The Great Wall "Has To Be Considered And Protected As A Whole" - But This Has Never Lead To A Boundary Change.
Anticosti
Inscribed: 2023
2.13
6
2
The Included Areas Only Cover 14% Of The Total Area Of Anticosti Island (Its Coastline And The Channels Of Its Two Principal Rivers).
Nubian Monuments
Inscribed: 1979
4.22
272
12
It Includes Elephantine Island Which Is Downstream Of Philae (And Not Nubian).
Saloum Delta
Inscribed: 2011
2.86
41
4
The Name Suggests A Natural Site, But It Is A Purely Cultural Site Focused On The Tradition Of Building Shell Mounds (And Using Some Of Them As Burial Places).