The significance of the property is of key importance by the selection of strategy for its conservation, use and management. In the case with “The Ancient City of Nessebar” this is extremely important as its significance is determined by its world recognised outstanding universal value – condition for its inscription on the World Heritage List.
According to the Guidelines ’Outstanding Universal Value means cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole’.
By the nomination of “The Ancient City of Nessebar” in 1982 the Bulgarian state guaranteed that this permanent protection will be provided and that the outstanding universal value will be preserved. According to the set international practice, the World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre watch through monitoring for each change in the state of the property, especially regarding its outstanding universal value, authenticity and integrity. If the outstanding universal value is endangered, the site is inscribed in the List of World Heritage in Danger (Guidelines, IV. B). If the outstanding universal value is irreversibly infringed, there is a procedure for excluding the site from the World Heritage List (Guidelines, IV. C).
That is why the outstanding universal value, defined by the registering of “The Ancient City of Nessebar” in 1983, has to be the basis for each assessment of its present state, as well as of all measures for its future conservation, use and management. This presumes an exact and clear concept for the outstanding universal value of the value.
On this basis of this in MP is developed a detailed analysis of the outstanding universal value of the property, evaluated to 1983; the international experience in the field of the modern policy for conservation, use and management of the World Heritage sites is examined, that could be useful for “The Ancient City of Nessebar”.