It is a category established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which distinguishes specific goods of exceptional relevance - cultural or natural - for the common heritage of mankind. These assets form the World Heritage List, endorsed by the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is an intergovernmental body which issues instructions for the insertion of cultural or natural property on the World Heritage List. It is advised by other bodies such as the International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

The inclusion of cultural or natural goods in the list is carried out according to a defined procedure, which implies the prior establishment, for each state party to the Convention, of an indicative list of goods to be registered.

This inventory of goods is officially delivered to the World Heritage Center, UNESCO. Consultative bodies such as ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM then evaluate each proposal. Its reports are discussed in the World Heritage Committee and the inclusion or not of the property on the World Heritage List is decided.

Only the countries that sign the World Heritage Convention, where they commit to identify, protect, conserve and revalue their cultural and natural heritage, may propose their assets to obtain the World Heritage Declaration. The indicative list of cultural and natural property must be made in accordance with the criteria of the Convention.

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