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Natural heritage
 
 
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Natural heritage is the legacy of natural, not man-made, places, objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically know as biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
.

Heritage
Heritage

Heritage refers to something which is inherited from one's ancestors. It has several different senses, including:* Geographical heritage, a nation or group's historic monuments, museum collections, etc....
 is that which is inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.

The term "natural heritage", derived from "natural inheritance", pre-dates the term "biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
", though it is a less scientific term and more easily comprehended in some ways by the wider audience interested in conservation biology
Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction....
.






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Natural heritage is the legacy of natural, not man-made, places, objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically know as biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
.

Heritage
Heritage

Heritage refers to something which is inherited from one's ancestors. It has several different senses, including:* Geographical heritage, a nation or group's historic monuments, museum collections, etc....
 is that which is inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.

The term "natural heritage", derived from "natural inheritance", pre-dates the term "biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
", though it is a less scientific term and more easily comprehended in some ways by the wider audience interested in conservation biology
Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction....
. "Natural Heritage" was used in the United States when Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize....
 set up the Georgia Heritage Trust while he was governor of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 ; Carter's trust dealt with both natural and cultural heritage , . It would appear that Carter picked the term up from Lyndon Johnson , who used it in a 1966 Message to Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States ....
 signed the Wilderness Act of 1964
Wilderness Act

The Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society . It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land....
. "Natural Heritage" was picked up by the Science Division of The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization working to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
 when, under Jenkins, it launched in 1974 the network of state natural heritage programs. When this network was extended outside the USA, the term "Conservation Data Center" was suggested by Guillermo Mann and came to be preferred.

Legal status

An important site of natural heritage or cultural heritage
Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical Cultural artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations....
 can be listed as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
 by the World Heritage Committee
World Heritage Committee

The World Heritage Committee establishes the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties....
 of UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
. The UNESCO programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. As of 2006, there are 830 World Heritage Sites: 644 cultural, 162 natural, and 24 mixed properties, in 138 countries.

The 1972 UNESCO convention established that biological resources, such as plants, were the common heritage of mankind. These rules probably inspired the creation of great public banks of genetic resources, located outside the source-countries.

New global agreements (e.g., the Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity, known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international treaty that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992....
), now give sovereign national rights over biological resources (not property). The idea of static conservation of biodiversity is disappearing and being replaced by the idea of dynamic conservation, through the notion of resource and innovation.

The new agreements commit countries to conserve biodiversity, develop resources for sustainability and share the benefits resulting from their use. Under new rules, it is expected that bioprospecting or collection of natural products has to be allowed by the biodiversity-rich country, in exchange for a share of the benefits.

See also

  • Cultural heritage
    Cultural heritage

    Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical Cultural artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations....
  • Heritage tourism
    Heritage tourism

    Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring.Culture has always been a major object of travel, as the development of the Grand Tour from the 16th century onwards attests....
  • Heritage conservation
  • World Heritage Site
    World Heritage Site

    A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
  • List of conservation topics
    List of conservation topics

    This is a list of conservation topics. It is a list of articles relating to conservation biology and conservation of the natural environment....
  • Heritage interpretation
    Heritage interpretation

    Heritage interpretation is the communication of information about, or the explanation of, the nature, importance, and purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods....
  • Natural Heritage Education
    Natural Heritage Education

    Natural Heritage Education is an educational program offered by Ontario Parks in some provincial parks in Ontario, Canada. It is designed to provide education focusing on the Cultural heritage of the park its surrounding area....
  • Industrial heritage
    Industrial heritage

    Industrial heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage dealing specifically with the buildings and artifacts of industry which are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations, often forming a significant attraction for tourism....
  • Virtual Heritage
    Virtual Heritage

    Virtual heritage is a term used to describe works dealing with information and communication technologies and cultural heritage. Virtual heritage and cultural heritage have independent meanings: cultural heritage refers to "properties and sites with archaeological, aesthetic and historical value" ; and virtual heritage refers to instances of...
  • Biodiversity#Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value
    Biodiversity

    Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
  • Conservation biology
    Conservation biology

    Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction....
  • Biodiversity Action Plan
    Biodiversity Action Plan

    This article is about a conservation biology topic. For other uses of BAP, see BAP .A 'Biodiversity Action Plan' is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems....
  • World Network of Biosphere Reserves
    World Network of Biosphere Reserves

    The World Network of Biosphere Reserves was established at the International Conference on Biosphere Reserves in Seville in 1995.This complete list of Biosphere Reserves is from the UNESCO Web site ....
  • National Biodiversity Network
    National Biodiversity Network

    The National Biodiversity Network is a collaborative venture in the United Kingdom committed to making biodiversity information available through various media, including on the internet via the NBN Gateway, the data search web site of the NBN....
  • Conservation Commons
    Conservation Commons

    The Conservation Commons is the expression of a cooperative effort of non-governmental organizations, international and multi-lateral organizations, governments, academia, and the private sector, to improve open access to and unrestricted use of, data, information and knowledge related to the conservation of biodiversity, with the belief that...
  • Convention on Biological Diversity
    Convention on Biological Diversity

    The Convention on Biological Diversity, known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international treaty that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992....