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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 ...
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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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 3 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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,” ...
access_time 3 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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), ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
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 ...
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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 ...
access_time 2 min read
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 ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 21 February 2022
UNESCO expresses its deep regret at the passing of Abdoul Aziz Guissé, Director of Cultural Heritage of Senegal, in Dakar on 3 February 2022.    "I would like to pay tribute to the memory of Abdoul Aziz Guissé and to the immense contribution he made to the safeguarding of african heritage," said Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture. "His unwavering dedication ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 18 February 2022
Resilience and Re-mobilization towards World Heritage. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the Call for Projects for the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Campaign 2022 ‘Resilience and Re-mobilization towards World Heritage’. In the wake of the pandemic which has highlighted the importance of carrying out community development hand-in-hand with World Heritage conservation, ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 15 February 2022
In response to recent large-scale outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds, the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened the Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds. Via a press release on 25 January 2022, the Task Force ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 14 February 2022
UNESCO expresses its full support to the families of the victims of two deadly attacks carried out on Tuesday 8 and Thursday 10 February 2022 against security guards on patrol 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. "These deadly attacks that occurred at a World Heritage site, ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 11 February 2022
On 31 January 2022, African experts met to gather insights on best practices for implementing the 1972 Convention in Africa. In the framework of Global Priority Africa, this initiative aims to propose a long-term vision for implementing the 1972 Convention while focusing on challenges and opportunities identified within the framework of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 1 February 2022
Today is World Wetlands Day with the theme: Wetlands Action for People and Nature, highlighting the importance of action which ensures that wetlands are conserved and sustainably used. The World Heritage Convention works continuously with multiple entities with this aim of protecting the most important wetland systems in the world sustainably for future generations. Wetlands are currently ...
access_time 3 min read
Monday, 31 January 2022
Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF) has announced its first open call for proposals. The open call is from 31 January 2022 - 30 April 2022.For detailed information, please make sure to carefully read all documents accessible below. Process of LLF Call for Proposals 2022 What LLF funds and How to Apply Download the Call announcement here: ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 21 January 2022
With the support of UNESCO, UNDP, the Government of Botswana and local partners, projects to support conservation and sustainable livelihoods of communities have started in the Okavango Delta World Heritage site. The activities, which are planned and led by local civil society organisations, are supported through the Community Management for Protected Areas for Conservation (COMPACT) ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
The World Heritage Scholarship of 2021, a residency programme of one month at the World Heritage property ‘Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland’ (Sweden), was awarded to artist Imke Rust from Namibia/Germany. The call for applications was open for people from all over the world, including researchers, artists or other cultural actors and creators. Imke’s winning proposal explored the links ...
access_time 4 min read
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
The 4th call for applications for the World Heritage Residence Scholarship at the World Heritage site ‘Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland’ (Sweden), is now open until 1 February 2022. The scholarship is aimed to be awarded to one selected person with an idea to relate the World Heritage site ’Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland’ to another World Heritage site in an artistic, cultural or a ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 5 January 2022
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its grief at the loss of Richard Leakey, the renowned paleoanthropologist and conservationist whose contributions helped protect Kenyan heritage and furthered the study of human evolution. Richard spent part of his childhood in Olduvai, in Ngorongoro Tanzania, and his parents Louis and Mary Leakey made important discoveries in fossils of ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 3 January 2022
On 6 December 2021, UNESCO and ICCROM launched the first edition of their joint training initiative “Improving Management Effectiveness in African World Heritage properties (2021-22)” targeting 25 African countries and 80 experts, of which 21 are women.  The first phase, starting this month, is composed of three online workshops with six sessions each, delivered in English, French and ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 3 January 2022
Strengthening synergies between culture and science in the fight against climate change was at the centre of the first ever meeting organised jointly by UNESCO, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) from 6 to 10 December 2021. This online 'International Co-sponsored Meeting on Culture, Heritage and Climate Change' ...
access_time 4 min read
Friday, 17 December 2021
Suva, Fiji (19 November 2021) – UNESCO, in partnership with IUCN Oceania, recently completed a draft background report to inform the Pacific Regional World Heritage Action Plan 2021-2025. The report is based on consultation at national and regional levels, and the findings present the dynamic heritage profile of the Pacific region, including challenges, strengths and opportunities, and ...
access_time 4 min read
Thursday, 16 December 2021
On 10 December 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the China-based environmental think-thank Greenovation:Hub (G:Hub) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) China, organized  an online workshop to promote the integration of the “No-Go commitment” for World Heritage into the environmental policies of Chinese banks and financial institutions. The workshop was a follow-up ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 16 December 2021
As part of an ongoing UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) project for “Post-fire emergency assistance for the World Heritage property of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, Uganda,” an online peer exchange was organized on 15 December 2021 by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa between the site management authorities of the Kasubi Tombs World Heritage site in Uganda and the ...
access_time 5 min read
Tuesday, 14 December 2021
As part of the project “Technical and financial assistance for the reconstruction of Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga, architectural masterpiece of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, Uganda, World Heritage property in Danger” funded by the Japan Funds in Trust to UNESCO, an Introduction Guide to the Preservation of Traditional Thatching of the Buganda Community of Uganda was produced to document and ...
access_time 3 min read
Friday, 10 December 2021
An online technical workshop was organized to strengthen capacities in the Arab States in applying Impact Assessments to both natural and cultural World Heritage properties, providing important tools to evaluate the risks and threats that new projects may pose to the Outstanding Universal Value of sites, and to elaborate mitigation measures. The online workshop, which took place on 6 and 9 ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 10 December 2021
The theme of this year's International Mountain Day is sustainable mountain tourism. Mountains form part of our common natural UNESCO World Heritage. While the World Heritage Convention protects these irreplaceable mountain areas, the COVID-19 pandemic badly affected the sector of tourism, which created a crisis of economic and livelihoods for mountain communities. The United Nations is ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 9 December 2021
UNESCO is committed to strengthening the management of African World Heritage sites by building the capacity of African World Heritage site managers – as embodied by its newly-launched Flagship Programme on “Fostering Cultural Heritage and Capacity Development” in Africa. In line with this Flagship Programme, the Interim Committee of the African Site Managers Network met in Abomey (Benin) ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 8 December 2021
Gabon ratified the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in December 1986. To date, it has two properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, the Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape Lopé - Okanda and the Ivindo National Park, inscribed in 2021 at the 44th enlarged session of the World Heritage Committee (Fuzhou, China). The country's tentative list ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 8 December 2021
A “Sub‐regional Capacity Building workshop on Sustainable Tourism for the Caribbean” took place online on 23 and 30 November 2021, organized by The World Heritage Centre and the UNESCO Office in Kingston and Havana in cooperation with the University of the West Indies and Barbados National Commission for UNESCO. The main aim of the workshop was to strengthen the capacities of the World ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 7 December 2021
Join us and contribute to a knowledge-building initiative connecting climate change to the diversity of human cultures and heritage.  To read the call, please go to the ICCROM website: bit.ly/3obL2JH To access the web form click here  Proposal deadline: 22 December 2021 Climate.Culture.Peace aims to share and exchange knowledge, research, practices and capacities through a multi-day ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 6 December 2021
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has appointed Lazare Eloundou Assomo Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.  Originally from Cameroon, Mr Eloundou Assomo is a graduate in architecture (Grenoble School of Architecture, France) and in urban planning (DEA Grenoble 1). He began his career as an associate researcher at the Centre for Earthen Construction of the Grenoble School of ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 2 December 2021
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the UNESCO Field Offices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), organised a regional online workshop on 2 December 2021, during which national Focal Points from the region participated to talk about the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting. Around 50 participants from 33 countries of the LAC region were trained in the technical aspects ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 2 December 2021
UNESCO has been informed of a press release issued by the Office of the President of Kiribati on 15 November last, concerning the Government of Kiribati’s decision to lift the closure of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area as a no-take zone and to introduce a Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) for the sustainable use of marine resources within the World Heritage property. A no-take zone is a marine ...
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Tuesday, 30 November 2021
Within the framework of the 23rd session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the 1972 Convention, the publication Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System: New steps towards its sustainable conservation will be launched at a special side-event which will take place on 25th November at 13h45 in Room II with the presence of the Director of the World Heritage Centre a.i. and the representatives ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 29 November 2021
On the 3rd and 4th of November, the Somali Academy of Science and Arts (SOMASA), in close collaboration with UNESCO, organised a two-day National Consultation workshop and awareness-raising event on the implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention in Mogadishu, Somalia, as part of the three-year project entitled” Supporting Capacity Building for Nomination projects and promotion of ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 25 November 2021
The 23rd General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention is meeting from 24 to 26 November 2021 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, convening the 193 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr Tebogo Seokolo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Permanent Delegate of South Africa to UNESCO.  During the session, the General Assembly ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 25 November 2021
UNESCO and Greece award the Melina Mercouri Prize for Cultural Landscapes to Kozjansko Park Public Institute of Slovenia Thursday, 25 November 2021 access_time 2 min read On 22 November 2021, in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, and Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, ...
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Monday, 22 November 2021
The Brazilian Cerrado is the largest savannah region in South America, and is home to the Cerrado Biosphere Reserve which encompasses the Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks World Heritage site. The Cerrado biome is also the most biodiverse savannah in the world, home to approximately 5% of the planet’s biodiversity. The region supports many rare and ...
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Wednesday, 17 November 2021
A new report, Ocean Science Roadmap for UNESCO Marine World Heritage, reveals that three quarters of marine World Heritage sites are unprepared for the impacts of climate change, because of a lack of scientific knowledge. The roadmap identifies critical science gaps that impede the sustainable protection of marine World Heritage sites in an uncertain future and calls for vastly increased ...
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Tuesday, 16 November 2021
The 16th of November marks the anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. The Convention has preserved UNESCO World Heritage, natural and cultural for 49 years. This common heritage belonging to us all is the best of our world, and the best of who we are. However the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) made it clear that if we do not adequately protect World Heritage ...
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Friday, 12 November 2021
The COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference has served as a venue to announce pivotal pledges that will support increased protection of natural World Heritage. Forests, coastal and marine ecosystems found in UNESCO natural World Heritage sites are some of the most biodiversity-rich habitats on Earth and play a crucial role in climate regulation by absorbing and storing carbon. World ...
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Wednesday, 10 November 2021
10 November 2021 marks ten years of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. On 10 November 2011 UNESCO’s General Conference adopted the new Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape by acclamation, the first such instrument on the historic environment issued by UNESCO in 35 years. The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation), calls on ...
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Wednesday, 10 November 2021
Within the framework of International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund, UNESCO Office in Bangkok and the Heritage Department of Lao PDR are organizing from 10 to 12 November 2021, with the participation of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, an online workshop on ‘Impact Assessment for Sustainable Heritage Management’ for the Mekong cluster countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet ...
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Friday, 5 November 2021
From June to October 2021, over Gambian 300 secondary school students have attended at least one discovery and training session at one of the two Stone Circles of Senegambia World Heritage sites in the country (two more are located in Senegal). Wassu and Kerbatch sites have been visited under the guidance of trained tour guides and teachers as well as staff from the National Centre for Arts ...
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Friday, 5 November 2021
The World Heritage represents the most exceptional expressions of our humanity and treasures of our planet. Through the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, countries around the world vow to safeguard the places of outstanding universal value through local, national, regional and international actions. In 2022, the World Heritage Convention ...
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Thursday, 4 November 2021
The course on “People-Centred Approaches to the Conservation of Nature and Culture”  is a flagship capacity building activity of the World Heritage Leadership Programme  This course is dedicated to World Heritage site managers/coordinators and heritage practitioners working in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The course will be held online in February 2022 and will be delivered in ...
Tuesday, 2 November 2021
The World Heritage Centre wishes to pay tribute to Dr. Joseph Eboreime, a leading personality of world cultural heritage in Africa who passed away on Wednesday 27 October. Dr. Joseph Eboreime was the pioneer Director of Monuments, Heritage and Sites of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) of Nigeria. He was a respected heritage professional who garnered recognition both ...
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Friday, 29 October 2021
Funded by the Flanders-UNESCO Trustfund (FUT), UNESCO starts the development of an online geographic information system for World Heritage Over a thousand properties are currently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, almost half of which are located in Europe and North America. To preserve the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage sites, potential impacts need to be ...
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Thursday, 28 October 2021
World Heritage forests: Carbon sinks under pressure, a report by UNESCO, World Resources Institute (WRI) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released today, provides the first global scientific assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration by forests in UNESCO World Heritage sites. It reveals that despite substantial carbon stored and absorbed by forests ...
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Wednesday, 27 October 2021
From September to October 2021, five sub-regional meetings were organized with African site managers from Eastern, Central, Southern, Western and Northern Africa to elect the members of the Interim Committee of the African Site Managers Network. 15 members were elected (3 members per sub-region) to work as the Interim Committee to ensure the official establishment of the African Site Managers ...
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Friday, 22 October 2021
On 15 October 2021, the UNESCO/China Youth Development Foundation Mercedes-Benz Star Fund “Conservation and Management of World Heritage Sites in China” meeting took place in Songtao Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou Province, China. It reviewed the achievements of Phase III of the project and launched a new Phase IV. Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Office in Beijing, expressed his ...
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Tuesday, 19 October 2021
UNESCO is launching a call for UNESCO designated sites including Biosphere Reserves, UNESCO Global Geoparks and World Heritage sites, as well as elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to benefit from the capacity building support of the UNESCO Earth Network. Earlier this month, a call for volunteer experts including young people was launched. The programme aims at matching volunteer ...
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Tuesday, 19 October 2021
An ambitious project using cutting edge environmental DNA, known as eDNA, to understand the richness of biodiversity of UNESCO’s marine World Heritage sites launches today.  It will involve the collection by scientists and local residents of genetic material from waste, mucus or the cells of fish from across select marine World Heritage sites, with the aim of monitoring fish, including ...
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Friday, 15 October 2021
Part 1 of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15) gathered countries to negotiate towards the adoption of a new and transformative global deal to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 (post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework) due in 2022. The hybrid meeting held from 11 to 15 October 2021 was hosted by China from the city of ...
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Wednesday, 13 October 2021
As part of the Sankofa Project, sponsored by the French Embassy in Kumasi, Ghana - the revision and 2021 edition of Asante Traditional Buildings has been published. The revised publication aims to regenerate interest in the traditional architecture found at the Asante Traditional Buildings (Ghana) UNESCO World Heritage site and motivate students and researchers towards sustainable ...
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Friday, 8 October 2021
UNESCO World Heritage Centre met on Wednesday 6 October 2021 with His Excellency Mr Carlos-Edmilson Marques Vieira, following his nomination in July 2021 as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Guinea-Bissau to France, UNESCO and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). This meeting provided an opportunity to update the Ambassador on current UNESCO’s initiatives ...
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Friday, 1 October 2021
The Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting (2018 – 2024), a global World Heritage conservation monitoring exercise carried out in six-year cycles, carries on this September with reporting in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.  World Heritage site managers and national focal points of the 147 World Heritage properties (101 cultural, 38 natural and 8 mixed sites) in the Latin America and ...
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