News

Doha, 18 June – The World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha (Qatar) today deferred for 12 months a decision on whether to inscribe Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee’s concerns over the site relate to planned coastal developments, including development of ports and liquefied natural gas facilities. It has asked Australia ...

Doha, 17 June – The World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha (Qatar) today inscribed the City of Potosi (Plurinational State of Bolivia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger, because of continued and uncontrolled mining operations in the Cerro Rico Mountain that risk degrading the site. In the 16th century, Potosi was regarded as the world’s largest industrial complex. The ...

The World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha (Qatar) has found that management and safeguarding of the Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara in the United Republic of Tanzania have improved to the point where the site can be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Located on two islands close to each other just off the Tanzanian coast about 300km south of Dar es ...

Since the World Heritage Convention was adopted in 1972, the World Heritage List has continually evolved and is growing steadily. With this growth, a critical need has emerged for guidance for States Parties on the implementation of the Convention. Various expert meetings and results of the periodic reporting process have identified the need for more focused training and capacity development ...

Doha, 16 June – UNESCO and cruise operator Seabourn today announced a six-year, $1 million partnership agreement aimed at reinforcing protection for World Heritage and promoting sustainable tourism. The partnership will work to foster wider support and understanding in the travel industry and among travelers, for UNESCO’s mission of identifying, safeguarding and promoting ...

Qatar announces $10m donation for new heritage protection initiative. Doha, 15 June —The Prime Minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, today announced a $10 million donation to a new fund to protect World Heritage sites affected by conflict or natural disaster. The Prime Minister made the announcement during the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the World ...

UNESCO has welcomed the announcement by SOCO international this week to halt oil exploration activities in the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site in Danger in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a joint statement with the World Wildlife Fund, the British company agreed “not to undertake or commission any exploratory or other drilling within Virunga National Park unless UNESCO and ...

Using its revolutionary 360-degree panoramic underwater camera, the Catlin Seaview Survey aims at revealing the hidden wonders of our oceans. This technology will for the first time provide a comprehensive snapshot of the exceptional values of marine sites on the World Heritage List. Through its dive expeditions, the survey captures stunning imagery every few seconds allowing anyone with ...

In celebration of World Oceans Day, the World Heritage Centre presents "A virtual dive in six marine World Heritage sites" By Richard Vevers, CEO, Underwater Earth And an address on the World Hertiage Convention and its contribution to ocean conservation by His Excellency Michael Worbs, Ambassador of Germany to UNESCO Tuesday, 10 June 2014 at 5:30 p.m. Restaurant, 7th floor, UNESCO, 125 ...

At the occasion of the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee, held from 15 to 25 June 2014 in Doha (Qatar), a special issue of World Heritage is dedicated to Al Zubarah Archaeological Site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2013, which flourished as a pearling and trading centre in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and offers outstanding testimony to an urban trading and ...

From 23 to 24 May 2014, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group organized the workshop “Strengthening South-South collaboration on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism” in Hongcun Village, China. Hongcun Village is one of the Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. The event gathered World ...

On 15 May 2014, the Government of the Bahamas officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, its instrument of ratification for the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Convention will enter into force for the Bahamas on 15 August 2014, making the island country the 191st State Party to the Convention, ...

The report resulting from the workshop held in Oslo, Norway from 1 to 3 April 2014 on the theme “Building capacity to support rights-based approaches in the World Heritage Convention: Learning from practice” is now available (see attachment below). In April this year an international invitation-only workshop was held for about 30 IUCN, ICCROM and ICOMOS experts representing most ...

The World Heritage Committee will consider the inscription of 40 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List when it meets in Doha (Qatar) from 15 to 25 June under the chair of Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani. Sites to be considered include five that are extensions to sites already on the List. The state of conservation of existing World Heritage sites will also be ...

In May 2014, forty participants, including site managers and local community representatives from World Heritage sites in Africa, participated in two separate “Entrepreneurial Training Workshops for World Heritage” in Ghana and Senegal, coordinated by the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) in partnership with the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO Offices in Accra and Dakar, the Ecole ...

UNESCO will establish an observatory in Beirut (Lebanon) to monitor and assess the state of Syria’s cultural heritage. The decision was made during an international meeting of experts held at UNESCO from 26 - 28 May. The Observatory will monitor the state of buildings, artefacts and intangible cultural heritage to combat illicit trafficking and collect information to restore heritage ...

The Kingdom of Buganda, once the largest of all the traditional kingdoms in East Africa, bears an eloquent witness to the living cultural traditions of present day Uganda. At the heart of this legacy lies the former palace of the Kabakas (Kings) of Buganda, built in 1882 and later converted into the royal burial grounds known as the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga. After the fire in 2010 the main ...

UNESCO Sites are symbols of our work in support of sustainable development. The international community helps us ensure these sites, of outstanding universal value, function as models of heritage conservation and sustainable human living. In Ethiopia, UNESCO's work includes developing integrated management plans for sites such as Simien Mountains National Park, the Castles of Gondar, and Lake ...

UNESCO has renewed its partnership with NTT Docomo, Dentsu and Evergreen (Japan), with the goal of educating elementary school pupils about World Heritage through dedicated apps for tablets and web content for teachers. First launched in 2013, the current agreement is extended to spring 2015 with a focus on teaching children in Japanese schools about natural World Heritage through games, ...

A practical guide on climate change adaptation for natural World Heritage sites has been published in the latest edition of the UNESCO World Heritage Paper Series, thanks to the generous support of the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust and the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment.  Climate change has become more prominent as a management concern. The World ...