News

The third edition of The World’s Heritage is available now, published by UNESCO Publishing and Collins. Featuring all 981 entries on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with all the new sites inscribed onto the list by the World Heritage Committee in 2013. With only the world’s most spectacular and extraordinary sites making it on to the list, The World’s Heritage (third edition) is a beautiful ...

On 20 February 2014 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, a discussion on the requirements of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was organized jointly with the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UNESCO Tashkent Office. Mr Sodik Salikhovich Safoev, Head of the Committee on International Relations of the Senate of Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of the ...

In the face of a deteriorating situation inside Syria, the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, made the following statement : "The situation in Syria is deteriorating at a rapid pace with incalculable human suffering and loss. Syria’s unique cultural heritage is also subject to tremendous destruction from the conflict. To date, three UNESCO World Heritage Sites -- Palmyra, the Crac ...

Managers of natural World Heritage sites in Africa met with national coordinators of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Small Grants Programme from several African countries in Limbe, Cameroon from 10 to 14 February to discuss how to involve local communities in the conservation of World Heritage sites. This workshop is part of UNESCO’s Africa Nature Programme, which aims to ...

UNESCO, Malian and international experts have completed the first assessment of damage to cultural heritage in Gao, following the occupation by armed groups of parts of northern Mali. Their work addressed both sites and the cultural practices of local people. “Urgent measures are required to safeguard the Tomb of Askia World Heritage site before the next rainy season in June,” ...

On Friday 31 January 2014, UNESCO joined forces with the African Union Commission to raise awareness and funds for the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) during the African Union (AU) Heads of State luncheon at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants pledged a total of 3,050,000 USD in support of the AWHF Endowment Fund. 54 Member States of the African Union were invited ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has taken note of information provided by individuals and civil society organizations concerning the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage site, and thanks them for their considerations and concerns. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has received a request from the Australian Government seeking the approval of the World Heritage Committee for a minor ...

The Banc d’Arguin National Park (Mauritania) and The Wadden Sea (Germany /The Netherlands) are the most critical sites for migratory birds on the East Atlantic Flyway and are intimately connected in a unique and fascinating way. The Wadden Sea provides support to migratory birds as a staging, moulting and wintering area. Every year, approximately 30% of the estimated 7 million wading birds ...

The UNESCO/Korea Funds-in-Trust project, “Support for the Preparation of the World Heritage Serial Nomination for the Silk Roads in South Asia,” was officially approved last July 2013 and has now launched operational activities, in the form of consultation and training meetings, both in Nepal and Bhutan in October and November 2013, respectively. This undertaking will highlight a ...

The Regional Secretariat Northwest Europe of the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), one of the organization’s 8 regional secretariats, has recently published a position paper on “Safeguarding and Further Developing World Heritage Cities”. Based on the experiences of its member cities, the paper addresses the challenges and experimented hands-on solutions to ...

UNESCO has welcomed confirmation from French-based oil and gas corporation Total that it will refrain from prospecting or exploiting oil and gas in natural sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, saying this was an encouraging sign for World Heritage conservation. In a letter sent earlier this month to UNESCO, Total’s Directeur délégué, Relations avec les ONG et la Société civile (Vice ...