List of World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia


The UNESCO has designated 41 World Heritage Sites in eleven countries of Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, and Laos. Only Brunei and East Timor lack World Heritage Sites.
Indonesia lead the list with nine inscribed sites, followed by Vietnam with eight inscribed sites, with the Philippines having six, Thailand five, Malaysia four, Cambodia and Laos three each, Myanmar two, and Singapore one. The first sites from the region were inscribed at the 15th session of the World Heritage Committee in 1991. The latest sites inscribed are the Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto in Indonesia, Plain of Jars in Laos, and Bagan in Myanmar, inscribed in the 43rd session of the Committee in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, in July 2019. Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites or delist those no longer meeting the criteria, the selection based on ten criteria of which six stand for cultural heritage and four for natural heritage ; some sites are "mixed" and represent both types of heritage. In Southeast Asia, there are 26 cultural, 13 natural and 1 mixed sites.
The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." One site in this region, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, is listed as endangered; Angkor and Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were once listed but were taken off in 2004 and 2012 respectively.
By comparison with other world regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Central America, and Western Europe, the designation of UNESCO sites in the Southeast Asian region has been regarded as 'too few and too slow' since the inception of the 21st century. Scholars from various Southeast Asian nations have suggested for the establishment of an inclusive Southeast Asian body that will cater to the gaps of the region's activities in UNESCO as the majority of nations in the region are underperforming in the majority of the lists adopted by UNESCO, notably the World Heritage List. More than 20 sites have been in the tentative list for more than 20 years.
Currently, 4 Southeast Asian countries are serving as members of the UNESCO Executive Board. Vietnam and Malaysia's terms shall expire in 2019, while the Philippines and Indonesia's terms shall expire in 2021. The Philippines has expressed a possible UNESCO Director-General bid in 2021 or 2025. The country has cited its possible candidate to be Senator Loren Legarda, a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change National Adaptation Plan Champion, United Nations Global Champion for Resilience, Dangal ng Haraya Patron of Arts and Culture, Chevalier/Cavaliere to France and Italy, and an honorary royalty to the indigenous peoples of Mindanao, Panay, and the Cordilleras. She has also been cited by the United States as one of the most powerful woman in the Philippines, having support from Asian, Oceanic, and Latin American peers. The ASEAN bloc supports the possible candidature of the Philippines.

Legend

World Heritage Sites

SiteImageLocationCriteriaArea
ha 		YearDescriptionRefs
AngkorCultural:
,,, 		1992The site was listed as endangered from its inscription in times of political instability following the civil war in the 1980s to 2004.
BaganCultural:
,,
buffer zone 		2019
Ban Chiang Archaeological SiteCultural:
1992
Baroque Churches of the Philippines Cultural:
, 		—1993
Borobudur Temple CompoundsCultural:
,, 		—1991Buddhist monument dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, located in Central Java. The monument structure is a large stepped pyramid crowned with rows of stupas.
Complex of Hué MonumentsCultural:
, 		—1993
Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest ComplexNatural:
2005
Gunung Mulu National ParkNatural:
,,, 		2000
Hạ Long BayNatural:
, 		1994
Historic City of AyutthayaCultural:
1991
Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns Cultural:
, 		1991
Historic Town of ViganCultural:
, 		—1999
Hội An Ancient TownCultural:
, 		; buffer zone 1999
Kinabalu ParkNatural:
, 		2000
Komodo National ParkNatural:
, 		1991
Lorentz National ParkNatural:
,, 		1999
Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca Cultural:
,, 		; buffer zone 2008
Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife SanctuaryNatural:
2014
Mỹ Sơn SanctuaryCultural:
, 		; buffer zone 1999
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National ParkNatural:
2003
Plain of JarsCultural: 174.56 2019Located on a plateau in central Laos, gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age.
Prambanan Temple CompoundsCultural:
, 		—1991
Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National ParkNatural:
, 		1999
Pyu Ancient CitiesCultural:
,, 		2014
Rice Terraces of the Philippine CordillerasCultural:
,, 		—1995
Sangiran Early Man SiteCultural:
, 		1996
Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of SawahluntoCultural:
,		—2019Sawahlunto is the oldest coal mining town in South East Asia. At the end of the 19th century, Dutch Indies had discovered and further exploited coal in Sawahlunto.
Singapore Botanic Gardens, known as the Bandstand, in the Singapore Botanic Gardens in the 1930sCultural:
, 		2015
Temple of Preah VihearCultural:
; buffer zone 2008
Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife SanctuariesNatural:
,, 		1991
Town of Luang PrabangCultural:
,, 		—1995
Tràng An Landscape Complex Ancient CapitalMixed:
,, 		2014
Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra†Natural:
,, 		2004
Tubbataha Reefs Natural ParkNatural:
,, 		1993
Ujung Kulon National ParkNatural:
, 		1991
Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural LandscapeCultural:
,, 		2001
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - HanoiCultural:
,, 		; buffer zone 2010
Citadel of the Hồ DynastyCultural:
, 		; buffer zone 2011
Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong ValleyCultural:
, 		2012
Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana PhilosophyCultural:
,,, 		2012
Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient IshanapuraCultural:
,, 		2017

Location of sites

has the fewest UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, next to Central and North Asia, despite being the base of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific headquarters located in Bangkok, Thailand and having a diverse line of natural and cultural heritage sites. Due to this, numerous scholars have been calling on Southeast Asian governments to participate and nominate more sites in UNESCO annually.
Various institutions have also criticized UNESCO for its 'Europe-centric' designations. An example of which was when UNESCO declared 10 UNESCO sites in Italy in just a single year. During the same time, 8 sites were declared for the entire Asian continent, where no designated site was located in Southeast Asia at all.
Green - Natural; Yellow - Cultural; Blue - Mixed; Red - In danger

Performance of Southeast Asia in UNESCO

The performance of Southeast Asia is contrasted by the performance of South and East Asia. Southeast Asian countries are in blue.


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from: 0 till: 53 color:orange text:"China"
from: 0 till: 37 color:redl text:"India"
from: 0 till: 22 color:orange text:"Japan"
from: 0 till: 13 color:orange text:"South Korea"
from: 0 till: 9 color:blue text:"Indonesia"
from: 0 till: 8 color:redl text:"Sri Lanka"
from: 0 till: 8 color:blue text:"Vietnam"
from: 0 till: 6 color:redl text:"Pakistan"
from: 0 till: 6 color:blue text:"Philippines"
from: 0 till: 5 color:orange text:"Mongolia"
from: 0 till: 5 color:blue text:"Thailand"
from: 0 till: 4 color:blue text:"Malaysia"
from: 0 till: 4 color:redl text:"Nepal"
from: 0 till: 3 color:redl text:"Bangladesh"
from: 0 till: 3 color:blue text:"Cambodia"
from: 0 till: 3 color:blue text:"Laos"
from: 0 till: 2 color:redl text:"Afghanistan"
from: 0 till: 2 color:blue text:"Myanmar"
from: 0 till: 2 color:orange text:"North Korea"
from: 0 till: 1 color:blue text:"Singapore"
from: 0 till: 0 color:redl text:"Bhutan"
from: 0 till: 0 color:blue text:"Brunei"
from: 0 till: 0 color:redl text:"Maldives"
from: 0 till: 0 color:blue text:"Timor-Leste"
barset:skip

UNESCO Tentative List of Southeast Asia

Brunei, Singapore and Timor-Leste currently have no tentative list sites. Both Brunei and Timor-Leste are presently undergoing comprehensive research for tentative site submissions. Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam revised their tentative lists in 2017. Laos, Philippines and Myanmar revised their tentative lists in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Cambodia last revised its tentative list in 2020. Indonesia last revised their tentative lists in 2018. The following lists also include the current nomination process being focused on by each country.
*


The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Southeast Asia is represented by Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Brunei, and East Timor have either not yet submitted an intangible heritage to UNESCO or they have yet to ratify and participate in the Intangible Cultural Registrar of UNESCO. Southeast Asia has two endangered intangible cultural heritage, Ca trung singing of Vietnam and Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua of Indonesia. The latest inscription for Southeast Asia is Traditions of Pencak Silat in 2019, which was submitted by Indonesia.
Member stateElementYear ProclaimedYear InscribedDescriptionReference
The Royal Ballet of Cambodia20032008
Sbek Thom, Khmer Shadow Theatre20052008
Chapei Dang Veng2016
Lkhon Khol Wat Svay Andet2018
Wayang puppet theatre20032008
Indonesian Kris20052008
Indonesian Batik20092009
Education and training in Indonesian Batik intangible cultural heritage for elementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic students, in collaboration with the Batik Museum in Pekalongan2009
Indonesian Angklung20102010
Saman dance2011
Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua2012
Three genres of traditional dance in Bali2015
Pinisi, the art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi2017
Traditions of Pencak Silat2019
Mak Yong Theatre20052008
The Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao20012008
The Darangen Epic of the Maranao People of Lake Lanao20052008
Khon, masked dance drama in Thailand2018
Nhã nhạc, Vietnamese Court Music20032008
Space of Gong Culture20052008
Quan Họ Bắc Ninh folk songs20092009
Ca Trù singing20092009
Gióng festival of Phù Ðổng and Sóc Temples20102010
Xoan singing of Phú Thọ Province20112011
Worship of Hùng Kings in Phú Thọ20122012
Art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Việt Nam20132013
Ví and Giặm folk songs of Nghệ Tĩnh20142014
Tugging rituals and games20152015

Southeast Asia Memories of the World Register

UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity, the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemination of these items.
Southeast Asia's entry to the Memories of the World Register was through the submission of the Philippine Paleographs by the National Museum of the Philippines in 1999, where it was inscribed on the same year as well. Following this landmark for the region, Malaysia followed with an immediate three submissions in 2001, all of which were inscribed the same year. Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia followed in 2003. After these landmark submissions and inscriptions, Southeast Asia's contribution to the Memories of the World Register has expanded into 24, 1 from Cambodia, 5 from Indonesia, 4 from Malaysia, 3 from Myanmar, 4 from the Philippines, 4 from Thailand, 1 from Timor-Leste, and 2 from Vietnam. Singapore, Laos, and Brunei have yet to inscript a submission in the Register.
Member stateMemorySubmissionInscriptionSubmitted ByDetailReference
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives20082009
Asian-African Conference Archives20142015
Babad Diponegoro or Autobiographical Chronicle of Prince Diponegoro. A Javanese nobleman, Indonesian national hero and pan-Islamist20122013
Nāgarakrĕtāgama or Description of the Country 20122013
La Galigo20102011
Multinational: Archives of the Dutch East India Company20032003
Batu Bersurat Terengganu 20082009
Correspondence of the late Sultan of Kedah 20012001
Hikayat Hang Tuah20012001
Sejarah Melayu 20012001
Multinational: The Golden Letter of the Burmese King Alaungphaya to King George II of Great Britain20142015
Myazedi Quadrilingual Stone Inscription20142015
Maha Lawkamarazein or Kuthodaw Inscription Shrines20122013
King Bayinnaung Bell Inscription20162017
Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon20102011The Manuel L. Quezon Papers, University of Michigan Library
José Maceda Collection20072007U.P. Center for Ethnomusicology, Quezon City
Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution20032003-
Philippine Paleographs 19991999National Museum, Manila
"The Minute Books of the Council of the Siam Society", 100 years of recording international cooperation in research and the dissemination of knowledge in the arts and sciences20122013
Epigraphic Archives of Wat Pho20102011
Archival Documents of King Chulalongkorn's Transformation of Siam 20082009
The King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription20032003
On the Birth of a Nation: Turning points20122013
Stone Stele Records of Royal Examinations of the Le and Mac Dynasties 20102011
Woodblocks of Nguyen Dynasty20082009

UNESCO Biosphere Reserves of Southeast Asia

Launched in 1971, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme is an Intergovernmental Scientific Programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments.
MAB combines the natural and social sciences, economics and education to improve human livelihoods and the equitable sharing of benefits, and to safeguard natural and managed ecosystems, thus promoting innovative approaches to economic development that are socially and culturally appropriate, and environmentally sustainable.
Its World Network of Biosphere Reserves currently counts more than 650 biosphere reserves in at least 120 countries all over the world. Southeast Asia is currently represented by 29 Biosphere Reserves; 1 from Cambodia, 10 from Indonesia, 2 from Malaysia, 1 from Myanmar, 2 from the Philippines, 4 from Thailand, and 9 from Vietnam. Brunei, Laos, Timor-Leste, and Singapore currently has no inscribed biosphere reserves in the list.
CountryBiosphere ReserveRepresentative ImageDesignation Year DescriptionReferences
Tonle Sap1997
Cibodas1977
Komodo1977
Lore Lindu1977
Tanjung Puting1977
Gunung Leuser1981
Siberut1981
Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu2009
Wakatobi2012
Bromo Tengger Semeru-Arjuno2015
Taka Bonerate-Kepulauan Selayar2015
Belambangan2016
Berbak-Sembilang2018
Batang Kerihun-Danau Sentarum Kapuas Hulu2018
Rinjani-Lombok2018
Tasik Chini2009
Crocker Range2014
Inlay Lake2015
Puerto Galera1997
Palawan1990
Albay2016
Sakaerat1976
Hauy Tak Teak1997
Mae Sa-Kog Ma1997
Ranong1997
Can Gio Mangrove2001
Dong Nai2001 - Extended in 2011 and renamed from Cat Tien
Cat Ba2004
Red River Delta2004
Kien Giang2006
Western Nghe An2007
Mui Ca Mau2009
Cu Lao Cham - Hoi An2009
Langbiang2015

UNESCO Executive Board

Currently, 4 Southeast Asian countries are serving as members of the UNESCO Executive Board. Vietnam and Malaysia's terms shall expire in 2019, while the Philippines and Indonesia's terms shall expire in 2021. The Philippines has expressed a possible UNESCO Director-General bid in 2021 or 2025. The country has cited its possible candidate to be Senator Loren Legarda, a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change National Adaptation Plan Champion, United Nations Global Champion for Resilience, Dangal ng Haraya Patron of Arts and Culture, Chevalier/Cavaliere to France and Italy, and an Honorary Royalty to the Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao, Panay, and the Cordilleras. She has also been cited by the United States as one of the most powerful woman in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. She initiated the formation of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which encompasses initially 20 countries worldwide. The 10-nation ASEAN bloc, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea support the possible candidature of the Philippines. The United States, Russia, Japan, China, and the Latin American bloc have expressed similar support as well.

General sources