What is a Tentative List for World Heritage Sites?

A tentative list is an inventory of properties maintained by member states that they may consider for future nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Signatories to the 1972 World Heritage Convention use these lists to signal properties they intend to submit. Importantly, UNESCO only accepts nominations for the World Heritage List if the site was previously included on the state's tentative list.

What we know

• Member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination to the World Heritage List. [2, 3, 4, 5]
• Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the property was previously included on the tentative list. [2, 3, 4, 5]
• The Latin America and the Caribbean region currently has 239 properties on the tentative list. [2]
• The Asia and the Pacific region maintains 510 properties on its tentative list. [5]

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureHow does UNESCO designate World Heritage Sites?
• how it workedWhat role does the World Heritage Committee play?
• a case in pointWhich properties are on the Latin America and Caribbean tentative list?
• compared withHow do endangered World Heritage Sites differ from tentative sites?
• how we knowHow many properties are on the Asia and the Pacific tentative list?
• an unexpected connectionHow do regional property counts compare between tentative and inscribed lists?While regions like Asia and the Pacific have hundreds of properties on both inscribed and tentative inventories, the precise filtering required through tentative lists dictates the global pipeline of future heritage designations.

Sources

• [1]list of World Heritage Sites in Latin America and the Caribbean (Wikidata Q17189191) · CC0 1.0
• [2]List of World Heritage Sites in Latin America and the Caribbean · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]List of World Heritage Sites in Africa · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and the Pacific · CC BY-SA 4.0