Esteban Cervantes Jiménez

I am an 39-yr old architect and urban planner from Costa Rica, currently working for the national chapter of the Green Building Council, promoting sustainable construction and design and helping manage a certification system, as well as being an EDGE and LEED trainer. I also have experience in urban design and urban planning, and a strong interest in cultural and architectural heritage, that comes from my childhood, when I used to visit national parks and towns at the Costa Rican countryside with my family, with its churches, landscapes and picturesque towns. It all impressed me hugely, therefore my soft spot for cultural landscapes and mountain sites. 

In this interest for heritage concurred many other of my passions: my love for nature (I'm an avid hiker, having visited some of the most amazing locations of my country), my interest in architecture and town planning (especially the Modern Movement), and my other multiple passions: world's cultures, history, geography, etc..

As a matter of fact, I was part of the Costa Rican team that in the 1999 International Geography Olympiad, in Toronto, reached an unexpected 4th place, after a 3rd-spot tie with the Canadian team.

Specifically about the World Heritage List, I knew about it in my teens, through an almanac book, that listed all WHS from every country to that point (mid 90s), in its profiles of every country. This created a deep impression on me, since I was both interested in the geographical aspect of this matter and the existence of a far more diverse heritage in the world, than I had previously thought. It further fueled my appetite for knowledge about the world.

Since I found the Unesco-WH website, sometime around 2003, I started searching more about each site, by reading the AB evaluations, creating picture and document folders for each WH and tentative site, etc.  Every time when the WH session happens and the documents from each new site and their evaluations are filtered, I enrich my databank and pictures. Of course, it is a totally intellectual task, but one that I find highly rewarding.

I am profficient in five languages: Spanish, English, German and French and Italian, having certified my proficiency in English (through TOEFL) and German (Zertifikat Deutsch B2). I am currently learning Portuguese and doing my best to learn Dutch. As you may see, languages are one of my freaky interests, and I'm eager to learn others, especially Chinese, Japanese and Russian. 

Currently, I am immersed in obtaining a Masters degree in Costa Rica in Urban design and planning, with the intention to then do a PHd abroad. I expect to begin visiting other WHS in the future, as time and money allow it.

My most impressive site: As to the moment I’ve barely gone abroad, so I think I cannot recommend from a long pool of visited WHS. But I do can through my research and I definitely have a passion for Eastern Asian sites and cultural landscapes, in which people has through centuries evolved in harmony with the environment, I think they show us a way to go forward, as our development patterns have shown to be so damaging to the world’s precious resources. So, sites like Wuyi, mount Qingcheng, Huangshan, the Hani and Ifugao terraces, Fujisan, the Kii pilgrimage route, Nikko, Wulingyuan and so on. I also have a soft spot for cultural landscapes in general, mountain ranges, historic centers and architectural sites, but I wouldn’t mind if I visit one of the worst Struve sites. From the sites that I do have visited, the prize is a tie: to Mexico City for really blowing my mind and showing me what a world class city and adequate protection of built heritage are, and to the Chirripó National Park component of the La Amistad NP-Talamanca reserves site, as it is a really breathtaking landscape and nature is present in its full beauty, power and dread.

My proposal for a new site: Definitely the WH list must become more representative of the diversity of the world with the years, I still think that Europe (especially Eastern Europe) has lots to give in terms of inscribable sites, but definitely the other regions (Asia in particular) should be taking the forefront. I am a fan of Eastern Asian sites and I don’t mind about having many historic centers, fortifications, religious or industrial sites, if they’re worthy. Since writing the last version of my profile, some of the sites I valued the most have been inscribed, like the M’banza Kongo ruins, Yazd, Afrodisias, Bagan, Ani and FLW sites. Others are pending an effort of the State Party for inscription or are not even in a Tentative List: like the cemeteries and cenotaphs of the First World War in Belgium and France, Glasgow's School of Art, John Soane's house in London, Kamakura, the ruins of Kumbi Saleh in Mauritania, the amphitheater of Aspendos in Turkey, Kuélap in Peru, the Mochica sites also in Peru, the Tayrona-Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Parks in Colombia, Las Pozas-Xilitla in Mexico, Las Pariñas in Argentina, the temples of Palitana, Varanasi or Bhubaneswar in India, Alvar Aalto's architectural work, the Klondike in Canada/USA, Famagusta in Cyprus, Dura Europos or Ebla in Syria, Jerash in Jordan, as well as many other sites. From my country, from my knowledge, a new, much bigger tentative list should be developed (it will surely be not developed in coming years) and I defend Corcovado as a possible WHS, if inscribed with associated reserves and its rich marine environment.

Check out my website: https://www.instagram.com/esteban.c.jimenez/