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Wednesday, 15 March 2023
A dynamic team of Bangladeshi primary school and university students, along with local experts, joined UNESCO’s environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling campaign at the Sundarbans to help increase scientific understanding of the unparalleled biodiversity of the world’s largest unbroken mangrove forest. Embracing the heavy chill of January, the eDNA expedition team from Bangladesh set foot on the ...
access_time 3 min read
Monday, 13 March 2023
From 11 to 17 March 2023, UNESCO is organising the First Workshop on Digital Documentation for World Heritage in the Arab region for 'Dive into Heritage.' 'Dive into Heritage' is a project supported by the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia that aims at creating an innovative online platform to present digital data of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Arab region and its related intangible ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 8 March 2023
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate girls and women across the globe – and we remember that women’s rights must never be taken for granted. Indeed, the path towards a gender-equal world is an uncertain one: gradual progress, made over generations, can be wiped out in one fell swoop. The women and girls of Afghanistan know this well. In a few short months, they have lost their most ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 1 March 2023
Throughout March 2023, members of New Caledonia's World Heritage site associations and management committees joined the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) and the New Caledonian Biodiversity Agency (ANCB) to take part in UNESCO's environmental DNA sampling campaign, as part of a global effort to sample and reference marine biodiversity in 25 marine World ...
access_time 3 min read
Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Within the framework of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project "Implementation of World Heritage Committee Decisions in relation to Boundaries and Strategic Conservation at Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region, Sudan," the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the UNESCO Khartoum Office organized, on 27 February 2023, a key meeting of partners and stakeholders. In a significant ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Over time, rainforest communities in Africa have developed a close relationship with their neighbours, the so-called 'umbrella species' such as great apes and elephants. Umbrella species are often either iconic or threatened, or both. These species are called 'umbrella species' because their protection also entails the protection of a wide range of fauna and flora that share their habitat. ...
access_time 5 min read
Friday, 17 February 2023
In line with UNESCO’s efforts since 1988 to encourage research on the Silk Roads as routes of interchange and dialogue of cultures, the UNESCO/Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust (FiT) project “Support for the Asian Silk Roads World Heritage Serial and Transnational Nomination(s) (Phase II)” was launched in November 2018 and completed in November 2022. Upon completion of this project, the final ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 16 February 2023
Through innovative national debt restructuring and blue bond arrangements, both Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles and the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System in Belize are securing sustainable finance to help conserve their marine World Heritage sites over the next decades. On 19 January 2022, global marine protected area practitioners met online with World Heritage managers from the Seychelles ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 16 February 2023
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre held two workshops with World Heritage site managers and national Focal Points in Latin America and the Caribbean to prepare a Regional Action Plan for the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting. Periodic Reporting is one of the core conservation and monitoring mechanisms of the Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of UNESCO World Heritage, praised the commitment of ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
On 14 February 2023, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre organized the second Coordination Group meeting on ‘Post COVID-19 World Heritage Site Management: Integration of Conservation, Tourism and Local Livelihood Strategies at World Heritage Sites’, a project funded by the government of Japan through the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust. Subsequent to the project’s launch in June 2022 (see Post ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
On 14 February 2023, 20 students aged 8 to 11 years old from Lord Howe Island Group became marine scientists for the day. In doing so, they joined UNESCO’s global environmental DNA research initiative that is being rolled out across 25 marine World Heritage sites to better understand ocean biodiversity and the impacts of climate change. The day commenced with classroom activities, where ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 13 February 2023
UNESCO is delighted to announce that submissions are now being accepted for the 2023 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation (‘Awards’) recognizes exemplary efforts by individuals and organizations to restore or conserve structures, places and properties of heritage value in the region. It encourages ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 9 February 2023
World Heritage Volunteers 2023 - Working on the Future  The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the selected projects of the World Heritage Volunteers 2023 Campaign. Under the theme World Heritage Volunteers 2023 - Working on the Future, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, 76 action camp projects will be implemented from April ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 7 February 2023
UNESCO on Monday expressed its support for Syria and Türkiye following the devastating earthquakes that struck the two countries. “My condolences go out to the families and loved ones of those who died. My thoughts are also with the injured and all those affected. Our Organization will provide assistance within its mandate,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. The Organization ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 7 February 2023
Panamanian children from Santa Catalina and nearby communities ventured out to Coiba National Park to sample the World Heritage area’s rich marine waters as part of the global eDNA expeditions that UNESCO is currently piloting across 25 marine World Heritage sites to better understand ocean biodiversity and the effects of climate change thereupon. On 7 February 2023, amidst a beautiful sunny ...
access_time 3 min read
Monday, 6 February 2023
On 24 January 2023, UNESCO and the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat signed a five-year agreement to jointly develop actions for the protection of World Heritage and intangible cultural heritage in Morocco and throughout the African continent. It marks the beginning of a long-term strategic and operational collaboration. UNESCO and the Foundation for the ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 3 February 2023
Celebrated annually on 2 February, World Wetlands Day aims to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and the planet. This year’s theme: ‘It is time for Wetland Restoration’ - is in alignment with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Ecosystems support all life on earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet - and its people. Taking this ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
The World Heritage Committee on Wednesday decided to inscribe the Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine) on the World Heritage List. This decision recognizes the outstanding universal value of the site and the duty of all humanity to protect it. "Odesa, a free city, a world city, a legendary port that has left its mark on cinema, literature and the arts, is thus placed under the reinforced ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
The World Heritage Committee meeting in an extraordinary session decided on Thursday to inscribe the Rachid Karameh International Fair of Tripoli (Lebanon) on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Located in northern Lebanon, the Rachid Karameh International Fair of Tripoli was designed in 1962 by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer on a 70-hectare site located between the historic centre ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
The World Heritage Committee meeting in an extraordinary session on Thursday inscribed the Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib (Yemen) on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib, is a serial property comprising seven archaeological sites that bear witness to the rich Kingdom of Saba and its architectural, aesthetic and ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 23 January 2023
The State Party of Djibouti ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2007 and established its first Tentative List in 2015 with 10 sites. However, Djibouti remains one of the twelve African countries without property inscribed on the World Heritage List. In the framework of Priority Africa and under the “Capacity-building programme for the nomination of World Heritage sites in the Africa ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 23 January 2023
The Kingdom of Eswatini ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2005 and established its first Tentative List in 2008. However, Eswatini remains one of the 12 African countries without property inscribed on the World Heritage List. In line with UNESCO’s Priority Africa, Eswatini has been benefiting from the “Capacity-building programme for the nomination of World Heritage sites in the ...
access_time 1 min read
Sunday, 22 January 2023
[in French only] Le 19 mai 1982, l’État partie du Burundi a ratifié la Convention de 1972, ou Convention concernant la protection du patrimoine mondial, culturel et naturel. Cependant, à ce jour, le Burundi fait partie de 10 pays en Afrique qui n’ont pasencore de biens inscrit sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial, en dépit des richesses culturelles et naturelles du pays. Dans le cadre de la ...
Friday, 20 January 2023
South Sudan ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2016 and established its first Tentative List in 2017 with three sites (one natural site, one cultural site and one mixed site). Since 2017, several capacity-building initiatives have been organized by UNESCO to support the State Party in developing its first World Heritage nomination despite the unstable political situation and security ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 20 January 2023
Sao Tome and Principe remains one of the three African countries without any sites on its Tentative List. In the framework of Priority Africa, UNESCO supports Sao Tome and Principles through the “Capacity-building programme for the nomination of World Heritage sites in the Africa Region”, funded by the Government of Japan, targeting 10 African countries without inscribed World Heritage ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has learned with great sadness of the passing of Vivian Ramnarace, the National Focal Point for the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage site (Belize). A marine scientist, Ms Ramnarace was the Fisheries Officer at the Belize Fisheries Department for the last 15 years. The passing of Vivian Ramnarace is a significant loss for the conservation ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 17 January 2023
In the Framework of Priority Africa, UNESCO intends to empower African institutions and professionals to safeguard better and promote UNESCO World Heritage properties on the Continent. Capacity development is, therefore, one of the hallmarks of the new Strategy for World Heritage in Africa. For that, the World Heritage Centre (WHC), in close collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 3 January 2023
On 18 October 2022, schoolchildren aged 10 to 15 years old and Traditional Owners* at the Shark Bay, Western Australia World Heritage site joined the UNESCO environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling campaign as part of a global effort to better understand ocean biodiversity and the effects of climate change thereupon. Amidst clear blue waters teeming with marine life, schoolchildren and Traditional ...
access_time 3 min read
Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, the Island of Gorée (Senegal) bears exceptional testimony to one of the greatest tragedies in the history of human societies: the slave trade. Today, however, the site faces major conservation challenges. UNESCO is working with the Senegalese authorities to meet these challenges. The island of Gorée has been facing a worrying situation in recent ...
access_time 3 min read
Friday, 16 December 2022
UNESCO has piloted an online training course on climate change adaptation and resilience in two natural World Heritage sites in Africa, with site managers from Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe / Zambia) and Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of Congo) joining. The outcome reveals the vulnerability of sites to climate change but offers options to reduce risks. Climate change ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 15 December 2022
In 2018, the region of Gävleborg, Sweden, created the international World Heritage Residence Scholarship at the World Heritage site “Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland”. The 5th call for applications is now open until 15 February 2023.  One aim of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention is to create links between people and promote international cooperation. Peace is a central concept. This ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 15 December 2022
In December 2022, young scientists from the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor (Institut polaire Paul-Émile Victor; IPEV) and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises; TAAF) participated in the UNESCO environmental DNA (eDNA) campaign on the Kerguelen Archipelago. This global campaign aims to improve knowledge and measure the effects of ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 14 December 2022
After launching the Patrimonito Storyboard Competition this summer, the World Heritage Centre received over 700 submissions from young people featuring solutions to the impacts of climate change on World Heritage sites. Climate change is the defining issue of our time and amongst the greatest threats facing cultural and natural heritage today. Involving the youth is essential to finding ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 12 December 2022
While countries start their last sprint for this decade’s UN biodiversity targets (COP15), UNESCO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sign a new four-year (2022-2025) Programme Cooperation Agreement. Norway’s support of NOK 25 million to the World Heritage Fund makes a significant contribution to safeguarding of the unique biodiversity and rich cultural heritage of ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 8 December 2022
On the Occasion of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), UNESCO has issued new guidance for the corporate sector to ensure that their operations do not put World Heritage at risk.  play_arrow “This guidance is based on over two decades of collaboration with the corporate sector. During this time, companies have really stepped up their support to UNESCO World Heritage sites ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 8 December 2022
Artist Mikaela Steby Stenfalk won Gävleborg, Sweden's fourth World Heritage Scholarship and residence with her project "Dialogue between two interiors". Fifty-two applications from 20 countried were received. The World Heritage Scholarship is intended for professional cultural creators and people who work with, research or have another connection to World Heritage. The scholarship is linked ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 6 December 2022
On 9 and 10 November 2022, local youth aged 6 to 12 years at Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves World Heritage site joined the UNESCO environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling campaign as part of a global effort to better understand how climate change is affecting marine biodiversity.Amidst sea turtle and dolphin sightings, local children collected water ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Early morning of 6 December 2022, Costa Rican Park rangers & volunteers sailed out to Cocos Island National Park to filter environmental DNA (eDNA) from the water. The local sampling is part of the global eDNA expeditions initiative that UNESCO currently conducts across 25 marine World Heritage sites to better understand ocean biodiversity and the effects of climate change ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
On 29 November 2022, the Kingdom of Morocco, represented by H.E. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, and Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, signed a framework agreement for the protection of African heritage, which will contribute to the implementation of activities for fostering cultural heritage safeguarding and capacity building, in the framework ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 29 November 2022
In collaboration with UNESCO and supported by BMZ and GIZ, a ‘cash for work’ scheme has been launched by the Agency for Protected Areas in Georgia and the Development Fund of Protected Areas of Georgia (DFPA) in the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands World Heritage property. 20 youth have been recruited as part of the project, and are receiving on the job training in visitor management and ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 29 November 2022
After fifteen years of grassroots youth activities and international cooperation, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Initiative meet the challenge of ‘The Next 50’ years to involve young people, communities and site managers in building together new, inclusive societies where World Heritage is a source of ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 28 November 2022
From 21 to 26 September 2022, nearly 100 youth from local schools collected environmental DNA (eDNA) samples across the Wadden Sea World Heritage area as part of a global UNESCO initiative to better understand how climate change is affecting marine biodiversity. Ocean species shed DNA into the water around them in the form of genetic material from waste, mucus or cells. Just one liter of ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
“The Global Research and Action Agenda on Culture, Heritage, and Climate Change: Scientific Outcome of the International Co-Sponsored Meeting on Culture, Heritage, and Climate Change”, the result of collaboration between UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is now available online. This ...
access_time 4 min read
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, known as the 1972 Convention, the UNESCO Cluster Office in San José collaborated with the National Museum of Costa Rica in the framework of a World Heritage Festival, which took place on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 November at the headquarters ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 15 November 2022
The Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting started in Europe and North America with a two-day online event (20-21 October) that brought together the national focal points for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the region. In this year of the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention that UNESCO has chosen to celebrate under the theme ‘World Heritage as a source of ...
access_time 2 min read
Friday, 4 November 2022
UNESCO World Heritage sites demonstrate the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage and are important resources for traditional knowledge and practices and lead the way for heritage-based solutions and strategies. UNESCO is at the forefront of collecting data and evidence concerning climate change's impact on culture. Through the World Heritage Canopy platform, heritage-based solutions ...
access_time 4 min read
Friday, 4 November 2022
This expert mission is part of the collaboration offered by the Director-General of UNESCO during her official visit to the World Heritage site "Historic District of the Port City of Valparaíso", which took place in May 2022. The objective is to provide the Chilean Government and the Municipal Corporation for the Administration of the World Heritage Site with technical advice to help guide ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 3 November 2022
New UNESCO data highlight the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites, with glaciers in a third of sites set to disappear by 2050. But it is still possible to save the other two thirds, if the rise in global temperatures does not exceed 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period. This will be a major challenge for COP27. play_arrow play_arrow Watch 50 UNESCO World ...
access_time 4 min read
Tuesday, 1 November 2022
From 19 to 25 October 2022, the Monaco Explorations mission conducted a series of scientific operations around Aldabra Atoll (Seychelles) with the aim of better understanding and protecting the coral reefs of this UNESCO World Marine Heritage site and promoting youth involvement. On this occasion, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco visited Aldabra Atoll on 24 and 25 October. The site was one ...
access_time 3 min read
Monday, 31 October 2022
The 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) is a perfect herald for the theme of the 2022 World Cities Day, “Act local to go global”. The HUL Recommendation provides a global approach based on shared principles and tools that supports historic cities in developing sustainable urban models adapted to local conditions. In line with this vision, the World ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Gathered in Yaoundé (Cameroon) at the invitation of the Government of Cameroon, the ministers and experts in charge of World Heritage from eight countries in Central Africa (Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Sao Tomé and Principe) called on UNESCO and its partners, including the African World Heritage Fund, to support them in ...
access_time 3 min read
Monday, 24 October 2022
Following the visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres to the World Heritage site of Moenjodaro on 8 September 2022, two experts designated by UNESCO jointly with the national authorities will start their emergency missions to Archaeological Ruins of Moenjodaro and to Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta, two World Heritage properties in Pakistan which have ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 21 October 2022
UNESCO and the Development Fund of Protected Areas (DFPA) of Georgia have signed an agreement to support sustainable tourism and heritage conservation activities in Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Georgia) World Heritage site. The partnership between UNESCO and DFPA, worth around US$ 150 000, will support Georgia’s sustainable tourism recovery through enhancing visitor management and ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
President Zelensky made official the candidacy of the historic centre of Odesa for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in a speech to the Organization’s Executive Board on Tuesday afternoon. Receiving the application, Audrey Azoulay, the Organization’s Director-General, stressed that “this initiative marks confidence in UNESCO's protection mechanisms.” President Zelensky made the ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 29 September 2022
On 29 and 30 September 2022, UNESCO organised the second online meeting for UNESCO’s Dive into Heritage project, with the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. UNESCO is currently developing the “Dive into Heritage” platform, an online tool to make World Heritage and its related intangible heritage more accessible to the general public through digital data. During its pilot phase the ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 27 September 2022
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of 1972 World Heritage Convention, UNESCO is exhibiting a collection of images of World Heritage sites. More than one hundred outstanding photographs are displayed around the UNESCO gates, offering a unique panorama of the diversity of the World Heritage sites. A selection of works by the photographer Yan Bighetti de Flogny, retracing his journey of ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 23 September 2022
World Heritage City Lab: concluding the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO HUL Recommendation in Córdoba On 12, 13 and 14 September 2022, the World Heritage City Lab concluded the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) celebrations in Córdoba, Spain. This concluding event was organised by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
50 Years of UNESCO World Heritage in partnership with National Geographic For 50 years now, UNESCO World Heritage has been a source of resilience, humanity and innovation. Through 30 splendid photographs, accompany us on a virtual world tour, focused on the future and youth.  Temporal Illusion, Pyramids of Giza, UNESCO World Heritage, Cairo, Egypt, 2018​ Memphis and its ...
access_time 7 min read
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
As foreseen by the World Heritage Convention in its Article 29, Periodic Reporting is a global conservation monitoring mechanism that aims to give the key stakeholders of World Heritage properties, i.e. World Heritage site managers and focal points responsible for the implementation of the Convention at national level, an opportunity to reflect on the implementation of the World Heritage ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
From 19-20 July 2022, a two-day workshop on “Sustainable Tourism Strategy for World Heritage Properties in Suriname” was organized which brought together representatives of government institutions, World Heritage site managers, and representatives of local communities to identify current challenges and opportunities for the development of sustainable tourism at UNESCO-designated sites. The ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 1 September 2022
UNESCO expresses its deep regret at the passing of Ms. Corinne Forest, who passed away in France on Wednesday, August 24, 2022. Ms. Forest was the Head of the Technical Unit at the Aapravasi Ghat, Mauritius (World Heritage property, inscribed in 2006), a museologist by training and an ardent defender of World Heritage. "Corinne Forest was a remarkable professional, with a sharp mind and ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 24 August 2022
A training workshop was organized in Cairo, Egypt, to strengthen the capacities of heritage site managers and for those developing projects in and around heritage sites to train them in applying Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context. Impact assessments is an important tool to find the best possible solutions to meet both conservation priorities and development needs in the framework ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 23 August 2022
In January 2005, Sierra Leone became a State party to the 1972 Convention and identified, in 2012, in its first Tentative List the sites that could potentially be proposed for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This year, in January 2022, this Tentative List was updated to include Gola-Tiwai complex as the potential site for the country’s first nomination dossier. Being among the ...
access_time 3 min read
Tuesday, 23 August 2022
On the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Saint Domingue, today the Republic of Haiti, saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It is against this background that the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on 23 August each year. It was first celebrated in a number of ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 12 August 2022
The Historic Cairo was Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. It is also the place of origin for many expressions of craftsmanship, showing the synergies between the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Convention for the ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 11 August 2022
On 13 July 2022, experts in coral bleaching preparedness and local management teams from UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs met online to share best practices to recognize bleaching alerts and rapidly deploy monitoring and evaluation measures during such events. Coral reefs have been increasingly exposed to heat stress in recent years due to rising temperatures that result from climate ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
By resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly decided that the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples shall be observed on 9 August every year. The date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. In 1990, the UN General ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
WHITRAP Secretariat General launches the 2nd edition of the Awards for World Heritage Education Innovative Cases on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. The objective is to build an international exchange platform focusing on innovative World Heritage Education case studies, and to provide action guidelines and references for practitioners of World Heritage ...
Friday, 29 July 2022
UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee have issued new guidance for assessing impacts from projects that could potentially affect the planet’s most precious heritage places. Designed specifically for heritage management institutions, governments and project developers, it aims to help find the best possible solutions to meet both conservation priorities and development ...
access_time 4 min read
Friday, 29 July 2022
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to launch the 2022 edition of the Patrimonito Storyboard Competition. This competition aims to provide young people with an opportunity to use their creative and problem-solving skills to raise awareness about World Heritage sites. The World Heritage Education Programme is welcoming secondary school pupils and youth to create storyboards on the ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
From the intertwining roots to the tips of the branches, in a complex habitat, many species come to feed and reproduce, forming together one of the most flourishing ecosystems in existence. And we humans depend on these environments that slow down coastal erosion and are a source of food for many. This is probably why the Colombian poet Tomas Gonzalez made it the symbol of his poetry ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
In June 2022, the Resilient Reefs Initiative was launched in Palau with the appointment of its first Chief Resilience Officer and Resilience Advisor. The Chief Resilience Officer will be tasked with bringing local communities, businesses, NGOs, and tourism operators together in an effort to build an inclusive resilience strategy for this globally outstanding World Heritage coral reef. The ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 18 July 2022
Dr Michael Jansen was a scholar and professor in conservation engineering, and the Managing Director of the German University of Technology | GUtech · Urban Planning and Architectural Design in Oman. "We pay tribute to the memory of Michael Jansen and for the immense contribution he made to safeguarding heritage of many countries. He has been involved for decades as expert in heritage ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 18 July 2022
With the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a first online workshop on the future UNESCO’s Dive into Heritage platform entitled “Expert Workshop on the Dive into Heritage platform’s scientific content” was organised by UNESCO on the 12th and 13th of July 2022. UNESCO is working on the creation of a new web tool “Dive into Heritage,” a comprehensive platform that will host digital data of ...
access_time 2 min read
Friday, 15 July 2022
On 27 -28 June 2022, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre organized an experts meeting on Modern Heritage of Africa and the 1972 World Heritage Convention, with the aim to integrate the modern heritage concept into World Heritage in the African context and provide a new conceptual understanding from an African perspective. It builds upon the work already done in the Centre regarding Modern Heritage ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 6 July 2022
With support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust, a hybrid-format Stakeholder Consultation Dialogue “Towards Developing Sustainable Livelihoods in the East Rennell World Heritage Site” was co-organised by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development and UNESCO in Honiara on 31 May 2022. Building on community meetings organised in East Rennell between 28 April and 1 May ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 4 July 2022
On 4 July 2022, the Scientific Advisory Board of the environmental DNA initiative convened for the first time, sharing crucial recommendations as UNESCO prepares the global roll-out of the citizen science initiative. The project “Environmental DNA Expeditions in UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites” is guided by an international Scientific Advisory Board that brings together some of the ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 29 June 2022
A series of online workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) in collaboration with ICOMOS to support Iraq in its efforts towards the conservation of World Heritage properties, particularly those inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Within the framework of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project for 'Strengthening capacities in state of ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 29 June 2022
UNESCO Member States are invited to complete the survey to report on their implementation of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) based on an assessment of the situation for the period 2019-2022.  In 2022, the survey contains two sections: Section A, concerning the implementation of the HUL Recommendation at national level, and Section B, concerning the ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
UNESCO is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training of Madagascar (METFP) for the creation of green jobs to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen the protection of Rainforests of the Atsinanana, UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Located in the south-east of Madagascar, Andohahela straddles Fort-Dauphin and Amboasary Sud in Anosy ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
On 28 June 2022, the UNESCO eDNA initiative was featured at the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon (Portugal), during a side event which showcased ambitious science-based initiatives that inform policy. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has the potential to revolutionize marine biodiversity assessments. This could save marine World Heritage site managers' precious time and resources, while at ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 24 June 2022
According to a new count, 152 cultural sites in Ukraine have been partially or totally destroyed since the beginning of the war. UNESCO reiterates its call to respect international law, and continues its actions in support of cultural professionals in the field. On Thursday, UNESCO published an updated assessment of the damage caused to cultural sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, when ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 23 June 2022
In the last 12 months, 145 cities, institutions and individuals have signed up to the HUL Call for Action to raise awareness about the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) and to accelerate inclusive urban and heritage management. Responses came from 59 countries from all regions of the world. They included stakeholders from academia, cultural institutions, the ...
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Thursday, 23 June 2022
Equinor, one of the leading energy companies and an important player in the oil and gas sector and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a leading standard-setting organization for the jewellery and watch industry, have confirmed their commitments to safeguard World Heritage sites. With an aim to preserve biodiversity and sensitive areas, and to reverse nature loss by 2030, Equinor ...
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Thursday, 23 June 2022
Between February and March 2022, UNESCO supported the emergency clearing of the riverbeds of the Jam and Hari Rivers along the side of the Minaret of Jam World Heritage property in Afghanistan, to prevent the impact of seasonal flash floods. The Minaret of Jam was the first Afghan site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, in 2002. Due to its fragility, it was immediately placed on the ...
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Tuesday, 21 June 2022
In line with UNESCO’s Priority Africa, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) is supporting 10 African countries without inscribed World Heritage properties (Burundi, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan) through the “Capacity-building programme for the nomination of World Heritage sites in the Africa Region,” ...
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Tuesday, 14 June 2022
Under the presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat has set up the programme "I discover my heritage" for the benefit of 3720 secondary school students from 62 secondary schools in Rabat in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports and the Ministry of Youth, Culture and ...
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Wednesday, 8 June 2022
The project “Post COVID-19 World Heritage Site Management: Integration of Conservation, Tourism and Local Livelihood Strategies at World Heritage Sites”, funded by the government of Japan through the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust, will be carried out from 2022 to 2024. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to national lockdowns and global travel restrictions and  to the closure of ...
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Saturday, 4 June 2022
As we celebrate 50 years of global environmental action for the anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, a side-event commemorated the birth and achievements of four key biodiversity-related Conventions adopted in the 1970s: the Ramsar Convention, the World Heritage Convention, CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species. Watch the event ...
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Friday, 3 June 2022
A fire in Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest, burning for over two months, escalated to uncontrolled levels on the northern slopes in February. The Rapid Response Facility (RRF), a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna and Flora International joint initiative providing small grants in emergency situations affecting biodiversity within natural World Heritage sites mobilized US$40,000 to ...
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Thursday, 2 June 2022
Resilience and Re-mobilization towards World Heritage The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the selected projects of the World Heritage Volunteers 2022 Campaign! Under the theme Resilience and Re-mobilization towards World Heritage, 59 action camp projects will be implemented from June to December 2022 at 56 World Heritage properties and sites on the Tentative Lists, by 44 ...
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Monday, 30 May 2022
In recent decades, Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, has been a major target for poachers greedy for ivory and bushmeat. In response to these threats, UNESCO contributed to the management efforts undertaken in the Park by strengthening the ecological monitoring of key wild species (elephants and giraffes) and by ...
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Wednesday, 25 May 2022
With support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust, community meetings were held in each of the four villages in the East Rennell World Heritage site on 28 April and 1 May 2022, to explore potential nature-based, sustainable livelihoods in East Rennell that would be compatible with the World Heritage values. East Rennell is the first natural property inscribed on the World Heritage List ...
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Tuesday, 24 May 2022
On 9 May 2022, UNESCO organized an online meeting to discuss the removal of African properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Despite the richness and diversity of Africa’s cultural and natural heritage, the Sub-Saharan African region is one of the least represented regions  on the World Heritage List, but still registers the highest number of endangered properties. The meeting ...
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Monday, 23 May 2022
The International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO was officially established in the Republic of Korea, on 23 May 2022. The Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr Ernesto Ottone R., signed the final Agreement for this UNESCO Category 2 Centre, together with Mr Eung-chon CHOI, Administrator of the ...
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Friday, 20 May 2022
UNESCO and Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN) sign an agreement to support eco-tourism and income-generating activities in Lopé National Park. The partnership between UNESCO and ANPN, worth US$ 200,000 over a period of two years, will help to materialize a long-term vision to support the communities living in the Lopé National Park to establish a link between eco-tourism and ...
access_time 2 min read
Friday, 20 May 2022
International Day for Biological Diversity 2022 is being celebrated under the theme: Building a shared future for all life. This slogan is very fitting as the 1972 World Heritage Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary and we reflect on the next 50 years of the Convention and its shared future for all life. It follows the 50th anniversary of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme ...
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Tuesday, 17 May 2022
African World Heritage Day is celebrated annually on the 5th of May to remember and acknowledge the importance of promoting and safeguarding the UNESCO World Heritage in Africa for the benefit of present and future generations. To celebrate the 7th edition of African World Heritage Day, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), ...
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Tuesday, 17 May 2022
Paris, 17 May 2022 – The Principality of Monaco and UNESCO signed today a new 3-year partnership to strengthen the scientific research of marine sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List and to pave the way for the use of carbon credit to help finance sites’ conservation efforts. The new 3-year partnership will explore how carbon credit can help finance on-site conservation action at select ...
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Monday, 9 May 2022
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) learned with sadness the news of the accidental explosion that devastated the Saratoga Hotel, in Havana, on May 6, causing a significant number of losses and injuries, as well as considerable damage. The WHC expresses its most sincere condolences to the families of the victims, to the injured and to all Cubans. “To address this terrible accident, we ...
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Monday, 9 May 2022
UNESCO expresses its deep regret at the passing of Amir Pašić. Amir Pašić was an international scholar and professor of architecture, and the former Head of the Architectural Department of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in Istanbul, Turkey. "I would like to pay tribute to the memory of Amir Pašić and the incredible contribution he made to restoration and ...
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Thursday, 5 May 2022
Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of African World Heritage Day 5 May 2022. Fifty years ago, the States Members of UNESCO met to adopt the World Heritage Convention, which to this day remains the cornerstone of international cultural cooperation. In 1978, this essential instrument finally became operational when the first 12 sites were  inscribed on ...
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Friday, 29 April 2022
UNESCO creates an online Geographic Information System to better protect World Heritage properties The World Heritage Online Map Platform is a new online Geographic Information System (GIS) for World Heritage, funded by the Government of Flanders (Belgium) through the Flanders UNESCO Trustfund (FUT). The Europe and North America region has been chosen as a pilot for the development of this ...
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Monday, 25 April 2022
The report on the third regional workshop for Europe on “The Role of Visitor Centres in UNESCO Designated Sites,” held between 23 September and 2 October 2021, has been released. During online and in-presence activities, held in Ercolano, Italy, participants explored the role of visitor centres through a sustainable development lens and reflected on their potential as a catalyst for community ...
access_time 4 min read
Friday, 22 April 2022
The “Interpretive Planning at World Heritage Properties in Europe” report published by UNESCO presents the concept, methodology, and outcomes of the first regional training course on enhancing interpretive planning at World Heritage properties in Europe, held in 2021. The initiative aims to highlight the potential of heritage interpretation in transversally supporting the objectives of World ...
access_time 4 min read
Thursday, 21 April 2022
The call for applications to participate in the second regional course on interpretive planning at World Heritage properties (WH-Interp) is now open. You have until 18 May 2022, 12 pm CET to apply! The course organised by UNESCO in cooperation with Interpret Europe is mostly aimed at practitioners with a professional role in the management of World Heritage properties in Europe, especially ...
access_time 4 min read
Monday, 18 April 2022
In 1982, UNESCO’s General Conference established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites. The Day is promoted by ICOMOS globally, and the theme for 2022 is ‘Heritage and Climate.’ Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time, and among the greatest threats facing cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage monuments and sites. One in three natural sites and one ...
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Thursday, 14 April 2022
All World Heritage-listed reefs are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century. On the occasion of the Our Ocean Conference in Palau, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, announces an emergency plan to give them the best chance of survival, with the support of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs. She also calls for an international mobilization to prevent coral reef ...
access_time 5 min read
Thursday, 7 April 2022
In response to the call to empower African experts working for World Heritage, UNESCO in partnership with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN launched the Mentorship Programme for African World Heritage Professionals on 16 February 2022 through an online event. This Mentorship Programme is developed to better capacitate African World Heritage professionals through ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
UNESCO and ICCROM held an online ceremony to mark the launch of their joint initiative “Improving Management Effectiveness of World Heritage in Africa” with representatives from UNESCO World Heritage, ICCROM, IUCN, the Ambassadors of Japan, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland, and other participants. This event marks the end of the first set of activities (from 6 December 2021 to 24 January ...
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Wednesday, 30 March 2022
From 27 to 30 March 2022, UNESCO undertook a pilot environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling campaign in the Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve World Heritage site (France), to prepare the global roll-out of its citizen science eDNA initiative. Youth aged 7 to 11 years old from the school in Ota-Porto nearby the World Heritage area collected eDNA samples and ...
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Friday, 25 March 2022
On 8 and 10 February 2022, attacks involving improvised explosive devices resulted in the death of four rangers, two drivers, one instructor and one soldier, with 12 other individuals hospitalised with critical injuries in the W National Park in Benin, one of the components of the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger) inscribed on the World Heritage List. The UNESCO Rapid ...
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Friday, 25 March 2022
UNESCO, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) will undertake a joint Advisory mission to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a component of the World Heritage site "Paris, banks of the Seine", from 28 to 29 March 2022, in order to assess the works in progress following ...
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Monday, 21 March 2022
Further to recent reports and inquiries, regarding the displacement of the Maasai people in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area World Heritage property, UNESCO wishes to recall that neither the World Heritage Committee – the intergovernmental body of 21 elected States governing the Convention – nor UNESCO Secretariat have at any time asked for the displacement of the Maasai people.  UNESCO ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 18 March 2022
The Secretariats of the world’s eight major biodiversity-related Conventions, including the World Heritage Convention, call for an inclusive post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to halt nature loss and deliver on the governments’ vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050. Failure to act would hamper the planet’s capacity to provide food, water and other benefits to people and make it ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 17 March 2022
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) will undertake a mission to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from 21 to 30 March 2022 to assess its state of conservation and a long-term sustainability plan for its protection. The mission is at the invitation of Australia and in response to the request made by the World Heritage Committee at its most ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 15 March 2022
In the framework of the Third Cycle of the Periodic Reporting Exercise in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which started in September 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has organized two workshops (one in English and one in Spanish) for World Heritage site managers in the region. These meetings, held respectively on 8 March (English) and 10 March (Spanish) 2022 online on the Zoom ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 10 March 2022
UNESCO and the Government of Malawi have joined forces with an NGO Ripple Africa to support conservation of the exceptional fish biodiversity in Lake Malawi National Park World Heritage site. The project which was initiated thanks to Norway’s financial contribution to the World Heritage Fund focuses on supporting sustainable co-management of the fish resources as a key livelihood and heritage ...
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Thursday, 10 March 2022
Today is World Wildlife Day with the theme, “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration.” The 1972 World Heritage Convention makes an important contribution to protect species by giving an international protection status to areas and ecosystems which harbor the most remarkable species. The transnational mangrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans (Bangladesh) and the Sundarbans National ...
access_time 3 min read
Tuesday, 8 March 2022
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, UNESCO has taken action within the framework of its mandate, in particular to protect culture. A new progress report was released on Tuesday. “We must safeguard the cultural heritage in Ukraine, as a testimony of the past but also as a catalyst for peace and cohesion for the future, which the international community has a duty to protect and ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 3 March 2022
Following the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Resolution on Aggression against Ukraine, and in light of the devastating escalation of violence, UNESCO is deeply concerned by developments in Ukraine and is working to assess damage across its spheres of competence (notably education, culture, heritage and information) and to implement emergency support actions. The UNGA ...
access_time 4 min read
Thursday, 3 March 2022
Monitoring World Heritage site closures In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many governments have taken measures to restrict movements of people and access to certain areas. This includes the closure of natural and cultural World Heritage sites in the 167 countries they are located in. Please consider the following when reviewing the statistics: The World Heritage Convention ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 1 March 2022
The 2021 UNESCO Marine World Heritage Annual Overview, made public today, summarises a year of conservation successes for marine World Heritage, but also underscores the urgent need for greater action to protect sites from the rapidly increasing threat of climate change. Consistent with its mandate, the work of the UNESCO World Heritage Marine Programme concentrates on building resilience ...
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Wednesday, 23 February 2022
On 23 February 2022, an online Kick-Off Expert Meeting launched the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust (JFiT) project “Support Silk Roads World Heritage Nomination(s) process” (Phase III). This event was co-organised by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS), and brought together representatives of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IICAS ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and ICCROM launch a Call for Expressions of Interest for the Evaluation of the UNESCO World Heritage Capacity-Building Strategy (WHCBS) For the 10th Anniversary of the adoption of the World Heritage Capacity-Building Strategy (2011-2021), the World Heritage Committee, at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021), requested an evaluation of the WHCBS. In ...
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