News

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June under the chair of Shaikha Haya Bint Rashed al-Khalifa of Bahrain, inscribed cultural sites in Denmark and Germany on the World Heritage List this afternoon. Inscriptions will continue through 1 July. The new World Heritage sites, in order of inscription, are: Aasivissuit-Nipisat, Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea ...

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June under the chair of Shaikha Haya Bint Rashed al-Khalifa of Bahrain, inscribed three cultural sites on the World Heritage List this afternoon. The inscription of sites will continue through 1 July. The new World Heritage sites, in order of inscription, are: Thimlich Ohinga archeological site (Kenya) – Situated north-west of the ...

A benefit concert and fundraising event was held last night during the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee to support the widows and families of the fallen rangers of Virunga National Park. The reception and concert, featuring a performance by Musicians Without Borders at the Arcapita building in Manama (Bahrain), launched the crowdfunding campaign #HelpVirunga, created to support ...

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June, decided today to inscribe the Lake Turkana National Parks on the List of World Heritage in Danger, notably because of the impact of a dam on the site. The Committee expressed concern about the changes affecting the hydrology of the Lake Turkana Basin, notably the disruptive effect of Ethiopia’s Gibe III dam on the flow and ...

World Heritage faces threats and challenges which raise the question: how can we contribute to a sustainable protection, preservation and conservation for heritage in an ever-changing world?  Youth are the most affected by the key development changes. Now more than ever is the time to actively involve them in the management and protection of World ...

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June, decided Tuesday to remove the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee considered that safeguarding measures taken by the country, notably the introduction of a moratorium on oil exploration in the entire maritime zone of Belize and the strengthening of forestry regulations ...

Today, the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee decided to remove the world’s second largest coral reef, Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, from the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger. The decision follows an intensive period of landmark conservation action over the past year, led by the Government of Belize in close collaboration with UNESCO, IUCN and civil society. The Belize ...

The International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on World Heritage (IIPFWH) was launched on 25 June 2018 during the 42nd Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Manama, Bahrain. “Our newly established Forum will focus on capacity strengthening for effective participation of Indigenous peoples in World Heritage processes, and we hope to establish diverse partnerships in support of that," ...

The opening ceremony of the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee took place Sunday at the Bahrain National Theatre in the presence of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain. It marked the beginning of the Committee's work, which will continue until 4 July. Several hundred people took part in the ceremony, which was opened by the President of the Bahraini Authority for ...

Taking place in Helsingør, Denmark the meeting prepared for the launch of the first sustainable travel website for World Heritage. The initiative is co-funded by the European Union. The World Heritage Journeys of the European Union platform showcases a selection of sites based around four thematic journeys – Romantic, Royal, Underground and Ancient Europe. Each journey features 8-9 World ...

The World Heritage Committee will inscribe some of the 30 sites nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its forthcoming meeting in Manama under the chair of Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain from 24 June to 4 July. The proposed additions to the World Heritage List number five natural sites, including one extension to a site already inscribed, three mixed sites ...

The renewed agreement outlines the mandate and responsibilities in the field of World Heritage of the Regional Heritage Management Training Centre “Lucio Costa” located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO. The Lucio Costa Centre is recognized for its mandate focused on reinforcing the capacities of Member States for the conservation and management of ...

The stakeholders and partners of the project BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) met in N'Djamena from 28 to 31 May 2018 to discuss their collaboration for the implementation of the project. Launched on 28 February 2018, the BIOPALT project aims to strengthen the capacity of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to safeguard and sustainably manage the ...

This World Oceans Day, the World Heritage Centre highlights the power of art to inspire people all over the world to step up efforts to protect our Marine World Heritage for future generations. Since the first true marine site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, Marine World Heritage has grown into a global collection of 49 sites that stretch from the tropics to the ...

Standard Chartered Bank has informed the World Heritage Centre that as part of a review and update of their environmental and social framework, it has strengthened its policy regarding World Heritage sites. Standard Chartered has not only decided to stop financing or lending to any projects that may damage World Heritage sites, but has also stated that it will not provide financial services ...

Considering that the sky is the common heritage of all humanity, as well as recognizing the need to identify and reinforce the ties that exist between religious / sacred traditions and knowledge of the universe, that illustrate in many places the close relationship between spirituality, the skyscape and sacred places, experts from 18 States Parties from around the world and a wide range of ...

Join us in beating plastic pollution at World Heritage sites. If you plan to visit one of the 1073 World Heritage sites this year, help contribute to protecting the site by not using single-use plastic. 50% of consumer plastics are designed to be used only once, and nearly one third of the plastics we do use escape our collection systems. Once they’re in the environment, plastics don’t go ...

Following the regional strategy approved by the World Heritage Committee in Decision 38 COM 10B.4 (Doha, 2014), and contained in the regional Action Plan for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean (PARALC), 2014-2024, a sub-regional meeting with the participation of Mexico and the countries of Central America was held in Zacatecas, Mexico. The objectives of the meeting were to ...

The Norwegian Parliament has adopted a resolution to halt emissions from cruise ships and ferries in the West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord World Heritage site by 2026 at the latest. This will make the fjords among the world’s first zero emission zones at sea. The decision is expected to have a positive impact on the local population, transport and tourism, climate and ...

An exceptional photo of the Namib Sand Sea presented by Mrinal Mohit won the first prize in the photo contest organized on Instagram by the World Heritage Centre (WHC) and the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) on the occasion of the third edition of the African World Heritage Day (5 May). The contest closed on Monday 30 April 2018 after three weeks of competition, and with the submission of ...