| COVER STORY
守护的美景
PROTECTED BEAUTY By Bruce Scott
10 AMAZING UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SIT ES IN SOUT HEAST ASIA T HAT SHOW T HE CULT URAL AND NAT URAL DIVERSIT Y OF T HIS REGION
T
he United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization—known as UNESCO—was formed over 70 years ago, but it wasn’t until 1972 that the final version of the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" was officially adopted (although the idea for a UN World Heritage Trust was proposed as far back as 1965). Since that time UNESCO has been designating World Heritage Sites across the globe, giving them a status of importance meant to protect and preserve both their beauty and their cultural significance for generations to come. Currently there are 1,092 official UNESCO World Heritage Sites worldwide, and 38 of those are found in ASEAN nations. Most travellers are familiar with the more frequented sites, including the ancient city of Ayutthaya in Thailand, the Borobudur temple compounds of central Java that date back to the 8th and 9th centuries, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. However, there’s a wealth of perhaps lesser known locales to explore, including culturally unique contemporary cities that act as “living museums”, and vast expanses of natural terrain that are some of the only remaining habitats of their kind.
10个入选联合国教科文组织的东南亚世界 遗产，充分展示了该地区的文化和自然多样性 联合国教育，科学及文化组织 - 即联合国教科文 组织 - 成立于70多年前，但直到1972年，“保护世界文 化和自然遗产公约”的最终版本才正式生效。（尽管早 在1965年就提出了联合国世界遗产信托基金的想法）。 自那时起，联合国教科文组织一直在全球范围内指定世 界遗产，赋予它们重要的地位，其宗旨是为了让下一代 保护这些美丽而具有浓厚文化意义的地方。 目前，全世界共有1,092个联合国教科文组织认定 的世界遗产，其中38个在东盟国家。
大多数都是旅行
者熟悉和最常去的地方，包括泰国的古城Ayutthaya， 这里可追溯到8世纪和9世纪的中爪哇的婆罗浮屠寺庙， 以及柬埔寨的吴哥窟，这被认为是东南亚考古遗址中最 重要的景点之一。 然而，还有有许鲜为人知的地方需要 去探索，包括当代城市中的独特文化，那里就是一座“ 活着的博物馆”，以及广阔的自然地形，这些都是它们 唯一的栖息地。
你知道吗？ 联合国教科文组织指定的世界遗产被分类为文化 （古代寺庙和历史城市）、自然（雨林和自然保护区） ，和第三类混合遗产（秘鲁的马丘比丘就是一个例子， 因为它包含 独特的自然美景和历史文化意义）。
Did You Know? Designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites are classified as either cultural (ancient temples and historic cities), or natural (rainforests and natural preserves), although a third category also exists, called mixed heritage (Machu Picchu in Peru would be an example, as it contains exceptional natural beauty alongside historic cultural significance).
20 l 24 LIFE M a g a z i n e
