New Zealand World Heritage sites
New Zealand is one step closer to nominating new treasured sites for world heritage status.
For a site to be nominated onto the World Heritage List it must first be on the state party’s tentative list – an inventory of properties which a state party considers to be cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value.
The tentative list provides a forecast of properties that a state party may decide to submit for world heritage inscription in the next five to ten years.
New Zealand's tentative list
New Zealand’s current world heritage tentative list comprises eight sites which, at this stage, are proposed to be developed for nomination in the following order:
Stone store, Kerikeri
- Kahurangi National Park, Farewell Spit, Waikoropupu Springs and the Canaan Karst System
- Waters and Seabed of the Fiords of Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) – an addition to Te Wāhipounamu – South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area
- Napier Art Deco Historic Precinct
- Kerikeri Basin Historic Precinct
- Waitangi Treaty Grounds Historic Precinct
- Kermadec Islands and Marine Reserve
- Auckland Volcanic Field
- Whakarua Moutere, or the North-East Islands (including Poor Knights Islands)
There are significant sites that have been unsuccessful. These sites currently need a more developed case to meet the world heritage criteria. With further work they may be able to meet the criteria and therefore be included in future tentative lists.
Our World Heritage: A Tentative List Of New Zealand Cultural And Natural Heritage Sites
In December 2004, the public were invited to comment on an illustrative list of sites published in a discussion document ‘Our World Heritage. Discussion Document: Towards a New Zealand Tentative List’, and to suggest other sites that may be suitable for world heritage nomination.
Two advisory groups made up of experts in the fields of cultural and natural heritage were convened to assess those heritage sites identified through the public process. After considering the comments made in each submission, the advisory groups assessed the outstanding universal value of each candidate site against the World Heritage Convention criteria.
The advisory groups’ report provides a summary of the sites recommended as being of high priority for world heritage listing. The report gives a systematic assessment of the values of each site, taking into account issues of integrity, legal protection, conservation management, and whether listing posed risks or added value to the site. Discussion is also made of those sites which did not meet the advisory groups’ assessment frameworks.
The following were also consulted and involved in the preparation of the advisory groups' report:
- The Ministry for Culture and Heritage
- New Zealand Historic Places Trust
- Te Puni Kōkiri
- New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
- International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) New Zealand
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