World Heritage, established in 1972 is an UNESCO programme with its aim to protect natural and cultural properties of outstanding universal value against the threat of damage in a rapidly developing world. With more than 690 cultural and natural sites already protected worldwide, the World Heritage Committee is working to make sure that future generations can inherit the treasures of the past. And yet, most sites face a variety of threats, particularly in today's environment. The preservation of this common heritage concerns us all. The Kathmandu valley consisting of the three royal cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur share amongst themselves seven World Heritage sites declared in 1979 by UNESCO. In 1984 the Royal Chitwan National Park in south-central Nepal, a 932 sq. kms of subtropical lowlands of Saal forests, tall grasslands, ox-bow lakes and flood plains was added to World Heritage sites in Nepal. Lumbini in the south-west, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, was added in 1997. The place of pilgrimage where the Indian Emperor Ashoka erected one of his own commemorative pillars and an archeological remains associated with the birth place of Lord Buddha form a central feature.