The underlying philosophy which brought the World Heritage Convention into being is that there are some parts of the world's cultural and natural heritage that are so exceptional and of such significance that their conservation and protection for present and future generations is a matter of concern not only to individual nations but to the international community as a whole.

Reflecting this universal importance are several ongoing projects being implemented by the World Heritage Centre, the United Nations Foundation(UNF), the UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) and a range of collaborating NGOs. They include work on invasive species in the Galapagos Islands, on biodiversity conservation in regions of armed conflict (based on five World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and on potential World Heritage sites in the biodiversity-rich island of Madagascar.