News

Discover the various archaeological and heritage interventions carried out at the Site of Palmyra by national and international research teams. This map has been developed by the French Ministry of Culture and the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), in collaboration with the archaeological missions that have worked at the Site of Palmyra. It is being published by UNESCO on the occasion ...

It is with profound sadness that the UNESCO World Heritage Centre acknowledges the passing of Sir Tumu Te Heuheu Tūkino VIII, paramount chief of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, on 23 September 2025. His loss is deeply felt across Aotearoa New Zealand, the Māori world, and the global heritage community. A respected and visionary leader, Sir Tumu devoted his life to heritage preservation and the promotion ...

UNESCO launches the flagship publication “Indigenous Knowledge, Ancestral Places: Navigating Change in UNESCO Designated Sites” UNESCO has launched a flagship publication highlighting Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge systems and perspectives within UNESCO Global Geoparks, Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage sites. The book, accompanied by an online resource, compiles ...

In a landmark initiative to advance biodiversity science and conservation, UNESCO has supported the Biodiversity Survey of the Cape (BioSCape), a pioneering research project that combines advanced airborne technology with on-the-ground scientific fieldwork to study biodiversity in South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region, one of the world’s most ecologically rich regions. Despite ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre participated in the Bogis-Bossey Expert Workshop on the Bern Process and the contribution of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF). The meeting, hosted by UNEP and partners on 27–28 August, brought together experts to strengthen collaboration among MEAs and prepare for the ...

On 25 August 2025, the College of African Wildlife Management (MWEKA) in Tanzania and UNESCO officially launched a collaboration initiative that aims to support capacity development to strengthen conservation of Africa’s natural heritage. This new partnership is designed to help train the next generations of African heritage professionals through university-anchored programmes. Supported by ...

More than 70 international experts from 42 countries across the world, gathered for an in-depth reflection over two days to consider ways to measure cultural heritage in the context of climate change – both with regard to the significant threat that climate change poses for all types of tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as natural heritage. UNESCO organized an International ...

Application Deadline: 10 September 2025 (Midnight Paris Time).  Application materials: CV and Motivation letter to be sent to: [email protected] with copy to Jessica Roland Williams [email protected] The UNESCO Mentorship Programme for African Heritage Professionals contributes to expanding the roster of local experts through peer learning, knowledge exchange, and hands-on ...

World Heritage site managers call for inclusive and effective Reactive Monitoring process.  18 site managers from across the globe met at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, to participate in the 7th edition of the World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum. Organized in conjunction with the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee, this edition of the Forum was dedicated to the theme “Enhancing ...

With the support of UNESCO, Equatorial Guinea is taking a decisive first step forward in the development and submission of its first Tentative List, a key milestone in identifying sites that may be inscribed on the World Heritage List in the future. Still the only African country without a Tentative List and one of the only nine countries with no sites on the World Heritage List in Africa, ...

On 8 July 2025, UNESCO launched the Dive into Heritage platform at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee, marking a key milestone in the field of digital heritage preservation. The innovative initiative, generously funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, introduces a new digital platform that brings World Heritage sites to life through 3D models and ...

With the support of the UNESCO project “Creating a Sustainable Heritage Ecosystem for Socio-economic Development in Africa”, generously funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UNESCO is reinforcing expertise across the continent while empowering communities to engage in heritage-led development. Training African experts on nomination dossiers To maximise outreach and impact, the project ...

UNESCO welcomes efforts to achieve lasting peace, an essential condition for the protection of cultural heritage in Cambodia and Thailand. UNESCO has initiated monitoring of cultural heritage sites using satellite imagery. According to available information, the hostilities may have caused damage to cultural heritage in both countries, including some UNESCO World Heritage sites. In ...

Thanks to the continued support of the Government of Flanders (Belgium), the World Heritage Online Map Platform has evolved into the UNESCO Sites Navigator, a dynamic geospatial platform now covering World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, and Global Geoparks. Originally launched in 2023 to support the monitoring of World Heritage properties, the UNESCO Sites Navigator has evolved into a ...

In January 2023, the site was simultaneously inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, in recognition of its Outstanding Universal Value and the immediate threats it faces. Over the last months - in November 2024, January 2025 and, more recently, during the week of 23 June 2025 –, in response to repeated attacks suffered by the city, UNESCO ...

On 12 July 2025, the World Heritage Committee inscribed The Archaeological Landscape of 17th Century Port Royal, Jamaica on the World Heritage List. This decision marks a key milestone for Jamaica and the wider English-speaking Caribbean, coming a decade after the inscription of the Blue and John Crow Mountains as the country’s first World Heritage site. The Committee is one of the two ...

The initiative aims to protect areas recognized as World Natural Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves through the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF). UNESCO is intensifying its efforts in Brazil to protect areas recognized as World Natural Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves in response to the rise in extreme wildfires driven by climate change. Through the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF), the ...

The 47th session of the World Heritage Committee came to a close in Paris, France, with the inscription of 26 new cultural and natural properties on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Once again this year, the spotlight was on African heritage, with the inclusion of 4 new sites from the continent and the removal of three others from the List of World Heritage in Danger. "With 196 States ...

UNESCO, the Church of England Pensions Board, Greenbank, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and WWF call on investors to adhere to industry commitments and ensure World Heritage Site protection. UNESCO and its partners today released a report which shows the extent to which extractive industries are encroaching upon UNESCO World Heritage sites. The report, “Extractive ...

Site managers and park rangers from Costa Rica and Panama responsible for the transboundary World Heritage site of Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves/La Amistad National Park gathered from 8 to 11 July 2025 to discuss how to enhance sustainable tourism at the site. Organized in the framework of the UNESCO project ‘Communities for Heritage – Latin America and the Caribbean’, financed by ...