The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation, or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage.[2] Costa Rica ratified the convention on 23 August 1977.[3] It has four World Heritage Sites and one site on the tentative list.[3]
The first site in Costa Rica listed was the Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park, in 1983. In 1990, the site was expanded to include the sites across the border in Panama. The most recent site listed was the Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís, in 2014. This is the only cultural site in Costa Rica, the other three are listed for their natural properties. There is one site on the tentative list.[3]
- ^ "The World Heritage Convention". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Costa Rica". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.