News

UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, welcomed the establishment by the President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama, of the largest nature reserve in the world, by expanding the marine reserve Papahānaumokuākea, in Hawaii (USA), listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2010. "This decision is a powerful symbol of determination to protect the environment. It is a way to strengthen ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will undertake a mission to Honolulu (USA) from 1st September to 3rd September to participate in the World Conservation Congress organized by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), an advisory body to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The main purpose of IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii is to bring together leaders ...

25 August – The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has expressed her profound sympathy to the government and people of Myanmar after the devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar, including the ancient city of Bagan, causing loss of life and extensive damage to nearly 200 historic monuments and iconic pagodas. “I wish to express my sincere sympathy following the ...

Paris, France – From 27-31 August 2016, managers from the 49 marine sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List will convene in the Galapagos Islands to explore solutions to some of the world’s most pressing conservation challenges including climate adaptation strategies and market-based approaches to strengthen sustainable fisheries. Along with leading experts and ocean conservationists they will ...

UNESCO today welcomed the opening of the hearings of the case of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for alleged war crimes and the destruction of historical monuments and buildings of religious significance, including nine mausoleums and a mosque at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Timbuktu (Mali) in 2012. This first trial at an international ...

The Director of the Centre met with the Minister for Culture, Arts and Civic Education of Gabon Ms. Paulette Mengue M’OWONO and her team to discuss collaboration on a number of topics including African Heritage and sustainable development, national World Heritage Committees and reinforcing national capacities and expertise towards more nominations from African countries. Gabon has currently ...

Just over one year ago, on 25 April 2015, Nepal was devastated by an earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks. This natural disaster heavily damaged Nepal’s cultural and natural heritage, including 691 historic buildings in 16 districts, of which 131 fully collapsed. Rapid visual assessment showed that the monuments, institutions and sites within the World Heritage site of Kathmandu Valley ...

The Director of the World Heritage Centre, Dr.Mechtild Rössler, attended a ceremony on the occasion of the new inscriptions from India on the World Heritage List.  The ceremony was organized by the Wildlife Institute of India with the Indian authorities and representatives of the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda, Bihar, and the mixed property of ...

Paris, 3 August- Sunken coral islands, floating rainforests, giant undersea volcanoes or even spires of rock resembling sunken cities: none of these sites can be inscribed on the World Heritage List because they are found in the High Seas, outside of any national jurisdiction. A report launched today by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ...

On 3 August 2016, the Director of the World Heritage Centre and the Home and Cultural Affairs Secretary of Bhutan, Mr Sonam Topgay, launched a two year UNESCO – Japan Funds in Trust project for South Asian Cultural Landscape Initiatives in Thimphu, Bhutan. The launch took place at the successful conclusion of the Workshop for Cultural Landscape and Sustaining its Significance – Bhutan 2016 ...

On Wednesday 20 July 2016, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) and the municipalities of Bethlehem and Battir organized an official ceremony to celebrate the inscription of the two World Heritage properties in Palestine: “The Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem” and “Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern ...

By Decision 40 COM 17, the World Heritage Committee, decided to continue the work of its 40th session at UNESCO’s Headquarters in the course of October 2016. Therefore, please save the date for this meeting which will take place in Room II at UNESCO’s Headquarters from 24 to 26 October 2016. More detailed information regarding this meeting will be available in due ...

The World Heritage Centre has learned with great sadness of the recent passing of Luc Hoffmann, a pioneer in nature conservation whose impact touched all the corners of the globe. An ornithologist, conservationist and philanthropist, Mr Hoffmann co-founded the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and helped establish the Ramsar Convention for the protection of Wetlands. He set up the Tour du Valat ...

A World Heritage partners’ event and panel discussion took place on the 15th of July in Istanbul sponsored by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, on the occasion of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee The Partners' event, for the third consecutive year, provided a platform for discussing private sector partners’ contributions to World Heritage conservation and promotion ...

The UNESCO Dolomites Foundation is the first Italian organisation to sign up to the Google Trekker Loan Program, so from today it will be possible to enjoy the Dolomites online, anywhere from New York to Calcutta, on Google Maps Street View. The result of the combined effort put in by volunteer mapping team from the Dolomites regional mountaineering clubs, the UNESCO Dolomites park ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 17 July—The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Istanbul, Turkey from 10 to 17 July with Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lale Ülker as its Chairperson has inscribed 21 sites on the World Heritage List. They include 12 cultural sites, six natural and three mixed sites. The World Heritage List ...

Istanbul, Turkey 17 July—The World Heritage Committee, on the last afternoon of its 40th session which opened on 10 July, inscribed eight new sites on the List: one transnational site (in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), and others in Canada, Chad, China, Iraq, Iran, Mexico and Sudan. The newly inscribed natural sites are: Hubei Shennongjia (China)—Located in Hubei Province, in ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 17 July—The World Heritage Committee this morning inscribed four new sites on the World Heritage List: the transnational serial site of The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan, Switzerland), along with sites in Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil and India. Today’s inscription gives ...

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee will resume on Sunday 17 July at Istanbul Congress Center, with a Bureau meeting at 9 am, followed by the Plenary at 9.30 am. The agenda of tomorrow's meeting will be restricted to a limited number of items. The 40th session will end on Sunday evening after these items are examined. Watch  Follow the Committee’s live ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 15 July—The World Heritage Committee inscribed five new sites on the World Heritage List this afternoon. One of the new sites, a transboundary property, is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, the others are in Greece, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The new sites, in the order of their inscription, are: Stećci – Medieval Tombstones ...