I don't suppose it's anybody's business, really. However, the designation was originally an idea from the U.S. We led the world in creating the whole idea of National Parks and in 1965 a White House study group proposed that something similar be done internationally. A bunch of nations got on board with that idea via the U.N.There are signs like this all of the US at national parks and other sites. The UN is behind this also.
On the surface it seems harmless but what business of the UN is our national parks and historic sites?
Mostly, it's a bureaucratic waste of money but sometimes it serves a purpose. If something of real historical, cultural, or natural significance is threatened with destruction, theoretically all the nations that have signed on to the program will chip in a few bucks to save whatever is threatened. Some good work of that sort has been done on multiple occasions.
Also, designation of a location as a World Heritage Site automatically puts it under the protection of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. So, since these sites are supposed to be off-limits during war, neither side is supposed to use them to support their war effort. Also, neither side is supposed to willfully damage such sites.
That means if we ever get into an all-out war again, no signatory to the agreement that created the site registry should ever attack:
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Yellowstone National Park
- Everglades National Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Independence Hall
- Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek
- Redwood National and State Parks
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
- Statue of Liberty
- Yosemite National Park
- Chaco Culture
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville
- Taos Pueblo
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park
- Papahānaumokuākea