Human Rights & Social Sustainability
Cultural heritage
The legacy of physical artefacts, sites and intangible practices inherited from past generations, protected under UNESCO conventions and social safeguards.
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Cultural heritage encompasses tangible heritage — monuments, sites and artefacts protected under the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention — and intangible cultural heritage, defined in the 2003 UNESCO Convention as the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities recognise as part of their cultural heritage, transmitted across generations and providing identity and continuity.
References
intangible heritage definition
tangible heritage framework
Overview
What it means
Sustainability's social pillar includes protecting what communities inherit — both places and living traditions — from development impacts.
How it is used
Environmental and social impact assessments screen for cultural heritage (e. g. IFC Performance Standard 8); indigenous and community rights frameworks treat heritage protection as inseparable from land rights.
Why it matters
Infrastructure, mining and climate projects frequently threaten heritage; safeguarding it is a core due-diligence and consent issue, not merely a conservation concern.
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