Property: Tsodilo
Id. N°: 1021
State Party: Botswana
Criteria: C (i) (iii) (vi)
The Committee inscribed Tsodilo on the World Heritage List under criteria criteria (i), (iii), and (vi):
Criterion (i): For many thousands of years the rocky outcrops of Tsodilo in the harsh landscape of the Kalahari Desert have been visited and settled by humans, who have left rich traces of their presence in the form of outstanding rock art.
Criterion (iii): Tsodilo is a site that has witnessed visits and settlement by successive human communities for many millennia.
Criterion (vi): The Tsodilo outcrops have immense symbolic and religious significance for the human communities who continue to survive in this hostile environment.
The Delegate of Thailand, while supporting the inscription of the site, questioned the application of criterion (i), asking whether the rock art itself or the entire property was a "masterpiece of human creative genius". The representative of ICOMOS explained that criterion (i) was applicable to the rock art.
The Chairperson congratulated Botswana on the inscription of its first site on the World Heritage List. The Observer of Botswana emphasized that this is a milestone, illustrating the commitment of her county to fulfil the obligations of the Convention and to adhere to the Global Strategy.