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Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements ofbiodiversity, includesflora andfauna,ecosystems, andgeological structures. It forms part of thenatural resources of a givenregion.
Definitions:
The term was used in this context in the US whenJimmy Carter set up the Georgia Heritage Trust[2] while he was governor ofGeorgia;[3] Carter's trust dealt with both natural and cultural heritage.[4][5] It would appear that Carter picked the term up fromLyndon Johnson,[6] who used it in a 1966 Message toCongress. (He may have gotten the term from his wifeLady Bird Johnson who was personally interested in conservation.) President Johnson signed theWilderness Act of 1964.
The term "Natural Heritage" was picked up by the Science Division ofThe Nature Conservancy (TNC) when, under Robert E. Jenkins, Jr., it launched in 1974 what ultimately became the network of state natural heritage programs—one in each state, all using the samemethodology and all supported permanently by state governments because they scientifically document conservation priorities and facilitate science-based environmental reviews.[7] When this network was extended outside the United States, the term "Conservation Data Center (or Centre)" was suggested by Guillermo Mann and came to be preferred for programs outside the US[citation needed]. Despite the name difference, these programs, too, use the same core methodology as the 50 state natural heritage programs. In 1994 The network of natural heritage programs formed a membership association to work together on projects of common interest: the Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI). In 1999, Through an agreement with The Nature Conservancy, ABI expanded and assumed responsibility for the scientific databases, information, and tools developed by TNC in support of the network of natural heritage programs. In 2001, ABI changed its name toNatureServe.[8] NatureServe continues to serve as the hub of the NatureServe Network, a collaboration of 86 governmental and non-governmental programs including natural heritage programs and conservation data centers located in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.[9]
An important site of natural heritage orcultural heritage can be listed as aWorld Heritage Site by theWorld Heritage Committee ofUNESCO. The UNESCO programme, catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. As of July 2023, there are 257 natural World Heritage sites (including 39 mixed sites) in 111 countries. This represents a total of more than 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi) of protected areas, 60% of which are marine.[10]
The 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention established that biological resources, such as plants, were thecommon heritage of mankind or as was expressed in the preamble: "need to be preserved as part of the world heritage of mankind as a whole". These rules probably inspired the creation of great public banks ofgenetic resources, located outside the source-countries.
New global agreements (e.g., theConvention on Biological Diversity), 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 thatbioprospecting or collection of natural products has to be allowed by the biodiversity-rich country, in exchange for a share of the benefits.
In 2005, theWorld Heritage Marine Programme was established to protect marine areas with Outstanding Universal Values.
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