Year 7 GEOGRAPHY Assessment Task:

World Heritage Sites in Danger

Written Report and Group Presentation Due: Your first
Geography lesson of Week 8, Term 2.
[Important: The written report should be printed and ready
to be submitted to your teacher, and your group
presentation should be ready to go if you are called upon.
The order in which groups will be presenting will be drawn
out of a hat on the day. Due to time constraints, some
groups will be presenting in their second Geography lesson
of Week 8.]
Marks: 25 (Part 1 will be marked out of 10, and Part 2 will be marked out of 15).
Outcomes assessed:
This task will assess your achievement in the following Board of Studies syllabus outcomes:
4.1

identifies and gathers geographical information

4.2

organises and interprets geographical information

4.3

uses a range of written, oral and graphic forms to communicate geographical information

4.5

demonstrates a sense of place about global environments

4.10

explains how geographical knowledge, understanding and skills combine with knowledge of
civics to contribute to informed citizenship.

Armed conflict and war, earthquakes and other natural disasters, pollution,
poaching, uncontrolled urbanization and unchecked tourist development pose
major problems to World Heritage sites. Dangers can be ascertained, referring
to specific and proven imminent threats, or potential, when a property is faced
with threats which could have negative effects on its World Heritage values. Under
the 1972 World Heritage Convention, a World Heritage property - as defined in
Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention - can be inscribed on the List of World Heritage
in Danger by the Committee when it finds that the condition of the property
corresponds to at least one ascertained or potential danger. Inscribing a site on
the List of World Heritage in Danger allows the World Heritage Committee to
allocate immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund to the
endangered property (UNESCO World Heritage Centre,
http://whc.unesco.org/en/158/).

The Task:
In groups of 3, select one of the sites from the List of World
Heritage in Danger on the UNESCO website:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/danger/.
There are two components to the task. First, your group must
research the site and present a written report on the current
status of the site. Each group will then provide an oral

Concepts upon
which this task is
based:

Ecological
sustainability
Environmental
management
Citizenship

presentation to the class that uses visual aids and responds to the issues raised in
Questions 4 and 5. Much of the information you need can be found on the
UNESCO website, but you may need to consult additional online sources during
the research process.

Part 1: Written Report

Answer the following questions in your - 1 page report.
1. Where is this site and why was it chosen as a WHS?
2. What are the ascertained or potential threats facing this site? Be specific
when outlining these threats.
3. Outline the perspectives of the stakeholders (individuals, groups,
governments) involved in using and protecting this WHS, and their
responsibilities.
For Part 1: Written Report, you will be assessed on how well you:
present a sustained, logical and well-structured answer to the question
communicate geographical information, ideas and issues
refer to appropriate case studies and illustrative examples where
appropriate
Part 2: Presentation
Address the following questions in your presentation. You should use visual aids
(e.g. PowerPoint, photo story, Prezi) to illustrate your findings. The presentation
should be no longer than 5 minutes long.
4. Discuss conflicts that are currently occurring in the management and
protection of this site.
5. Outline and justify a strategy that your group believes will best provide for
the future ecological sustainability of this WHS.
For Part 2: Presentation, you will be assessed on how well you:
demonstrate depth of knowledge and understanding of the content
demonstrate critical thinking skills in constructing feasible strategies for
ecological sustainability
show innovation in your presentation of information
convey information effectively: vocal clarity and expression, pace, and
volume
work effectively as a group, and organise your time effectively