News

The World Heritage Centre has launched an Online Consultation with key World Heritage stakeholders on the updating of the “Policy Document on the Impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage properties”. The consultation, which is taking place until 20 January 2020, will gather feedback and comments from key World Heritage stakeholders of the World Heritage Convention on this crucial ...

The World Heritage Centre has been following with attention and concern the situation in the Galapagos Islands, and in particular in the Island of San Cristobal, where a cargo vessel overturned on 22 December 2019, due to the fall of a container crane, causing a 600-gallon oil spill. According to official sources, the situation has been quickly mastered to avoid possible impacts on the ...

Dear friends of World Heritage,  I would like to thank you once again for all of your support over the past year, to help protect our most precious heritage: All of you count! Whether you work in heritage conservation, work at a site, travel as a tourist, or even just visit the heritage places near your home, your awareness and efforts make a difference. It is also important to us to receive ...

On the occasion of the Forum of Ministers of Culture on 19 November 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, the Culture Sector proudly introduces the Culture|2030 Indicators. The Culture|2030 indicators is a framework of thematic indicators whose purpose is to measure and monitor the progress of culture’s enabling contribution to the national and local implementation of the Goals and ...

In response to the results of the independent technical review of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) commissioned by IUCN, the World Heritage Centre expresses grave concern over the state of conservation of Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve World Heritage site and the impacts of the Rufiji Hydropower on the property. The review concludes that the strategic environmental assessment of ...

From 25 to 29 November 2019, experts from World Heritage marine sites met in Indonesia to support the Komodo National Park with the management of its marine component. See the pictures Komodo National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991 for its outstanding ecosystems and biodiversity. While perhaps best known for the Komodo Dragon, Komodo National Park’s Outstanding ...

The seminar "Climate Change, World Heritage and Tourism" was presented at UNESCO Headquarters on 16 December 2019 by Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in collaboration with UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS France and the Association des biens français du patrimoine mondial. On a global scale, tourism is a factor contributing to climate change, especially when emissions are measured at ...

International Mountain Day, designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003 and celebrated on 11 December, highlights the importance of mountains to life on Earth. ‘Mountains matter for Youth’ is the theme of this year’s International Mountain Day. The 2019 International Mountain Day’s theme is a great opportunity for young generations, to enhance World Heritage conservation ...

"Heritage, World Heritage and the Future: Perspectives on Scale, Conservation and Dialogue” The 14th International Anamed Symposium in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre held on 5-6 December at ANAMED, Koc University in Istanbul produced important outcomes for archaeological World Heritage sites. The challenges affecting the conservation mechanism as well as the ...

The Arab World Heritage Young Professionals Forum “empowering youth to build peace through the protection and preservation of heritage” starts today! The Forum was opened by H. E. Mr Mohamed Zinelabidine, Minister of Cultural Affairs of Tunisia, Dr Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO; Dr Mechtild Rössler, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre; H. E. Ms Élaine Ayotte, ...

The 22nd General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention is meeting on 27 and 28 November 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, convening the 193 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr Adam Al Mulla, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the State of Kuwait to UNESCO. During the session, the General Assembly elected ...

In view of the current global pandemic and following the extraordinary measures being taken to tackle the spread of COVID-19 globally, the 2020 Campaign of the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Initiative has been postponed to 2021. Read More “Fostering Youth Commitment towards World Heritage” The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the Call for Projects for the World ...

The World Heritage Centre expresses its concern over on-going bushfires in and around the Gondwana rainforests in Australia and offers its solidarity to the people affected. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has been receiving many expressions of concern from the media and civil society over the possible impact of bushfires on the World Heritage property, “Gondwana Rainforests of Australia”, ...

From 15 to 18 November, an expert meeting was convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) together with Germany’s Federal Office for Nature Conservation (BfN) and in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on the Isle of Vilm, Germany to discuss how the World Heritage Convention can contribute to the new global agenda for biodiversity conservation.  At the ...

The 2019 UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was awarded on 18 November to Instituto do Património Cultural in Cabo Verde for its outstanding contribution to the safeguarding, management and sustainable development of the Natural Park of Cova, Paul and Ribeira da Torre. The award ceremony took place at UNESCO ...

This year’s UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation will be awarded to the Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in recognition of its socially-just environmental conservation and sustainable development activities, following the recommendation of the international jury of the prize.  The award ceremony will be held in Budapest, ...

Today marks the 47th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This Convention protects the world’s most outstanding places, belonging to us all. Where it all began The idea of creating an international movement for protecting heritage emerged after World War I. The 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage developed from the merging of two ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is closely monitoring the state of conservation of the World Heritage site of Venice and its Lagoon.  Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987, Venice faces several threats from overtourism, damage caused by a steady stream of cruise ships, and from the potential negative effects of new developments. The site is also highly vulnerable to the negative ...

UNESCO has been at the forefront of exploring and managing the impacts of climate change on World Heritage, and supports World Heritage sites on climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. The promotion of renewable energy production is of great importance, as this technology is among the key solutions for the mitigation of climate change and the promotion of sustainable ...

From 5 to 7 November 2019, a total of 27 participants—including Focal Points, Vice-Ministers, and academics—from 14 countries of the sub-regions of Mexico and Central America and the Caribbean gathered in Havana, Cuba, to analyze and discuss the relevance of their current Tentative Lists.  One of the central objectives of the three-day workshop was to strengthen the understanding of and ...