News

The World Heritage Committee today inscribed two natural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: Teide National Park (Spain); Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathian (Slovakia, Ukraine). The Committee also inscribed the Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda (Gabon) as a mixed - cultural and natural - site. Four cultural sites were inscribed: the Richtersveld Cultural and ...

Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee on Tuesday decided to inscribe the three new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: the Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar); South China Karst (China); and Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes (Republic of Korea). The Rainforests of the Atsinanana comprise six national parks distributed along the eastern part of the island. ...

Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee today inscribed the Galápagos (Ecuador), and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger with a view to mobilizing support for their conservation. Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent, the 19 islands of the Galápagos and their surrounding marine reserve ...

Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee has removed Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin, and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, from the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing progress in the two sites' state of preservation.The Palaces of Abomey, inscribed simultaneously on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1985, are a unique ...

Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee on Monday decided to keep Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) on the List of World Heritage in Danger. But it asked Germany to provide an alternative solution to traffic management than the bridge currently planned in the site inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Christchurch for its ...

The World Heritage Committee has decided that improvements in the preservation of the Everglades National Park (Florida, USA) and Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) were sufficient to remove both UNESCO World Heritage site from the List of World Heritage in Danger.The Committee commended the United States of America for its investment of scientific and financial resources to ...

Christchurch, New Zealand, 23 June  - The Pacific region's traditional respect for both natural and cultural preservation was celebrated at the opening of the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, chaired by Tumu te Heuheu of New Zealand, here Saturday.A traditional Powhiri welcome celebration took place at the Christchurch Town Hall auditorium to open the session in the presence ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre today signed the contract with Lattanzi SRL construction company to begin the re-erection of the Aksum obelisk. Also known as Stela 2, it is the second largest stela on the Aksum World Heritage site in Ethiopia. Transported to Rome by the troops of Mussolini in 1937, it was returned by the Italian Government in April 2005. Weighing 150 tons and 24 meters high, ...

On Friday June 8, 2007, a female gorilla was shot in the southern sector of Virunga National Park, and her 3-month old baby was found sitting on her dead body. This female belonged to a group of 33 gorillas referred to as "habituated", meaning they are used to contact with humans. The death of this female gorilla occurred less than six months after that of two males killed in the same ...

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have today reached an agreement to jointly fund the eradication of rodent pests on Macquarie Island, Australia to protect its World Heritage values. The seabird populations and vegetation of the Island are under serious threat from plagues of rabbits, rats and mice. Following discussions, the Governments have agreed to provide funding of AUS$24.6 ...

The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern after a torrential landslide of snow, mud, stones, trees and vegetation at the Geyser Valley in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka World Heritage site. Located in the eastern part of the Russian Federation, this is one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world, with a high density of active volcanoes, a variety of types, and a wide ...

The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of 45 new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 31st session in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 23 June to 2 July.During the session, the Committee will also examine a strategy to reduce risks from disasters at World Heritage properties; the impact of climate change on World Heritage sites; and ...

The European Commission (DG EAC) and Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, has announced the laureates of the annual European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards.The Awards will be presented to the representatives of the awarded achievements at the annual European Heritage Awards Ceremony, which will take place on 8 June 2007 in the Stockholm ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Centro Camuno per i Studi Preistorici (CCSP) and the Ministero per i Beni et le Attività Culturali, organised a workshop from 23-23 May 2007, financed by the Spanish Funds-in-Trust entitled ‘Managing Rock Art World Heritage Sites' with the participation of invited Rock Art experts from around the world to present new developments ...

The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern after the fire on the Cutty Sark tea clipper, part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage site located in the United Kingdom. On 21 May 2007, the British authorities informed the World Heritage Centre that a fire had swept through the Cutty Sark. The fire started around 4.45 am on Monday and the damage has been substantial. However, due ...

At its first session in Algiers (Algeria), November 2006, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage accepted the generous offer of China to host an extraordinary session of the Committee (Decision 1.COM 8). During this session, the Intergovernmental Committee will pursue the discussions initiated in Algiers.  The main participants of the first ...

The Government of China will launch a World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific Region in China. The inauguration ceremony of this institute will take place at Tongji University, Shanghai with the presence of Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the ...

The Prince of Wales received the UNESCO certificate for the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape during the inscription ceremony on 10 May 2007 at Cotehele House (Cornwall, United Kingdom). Dr Mechtild Rössler, Chief of the Europe and North America Section at the World Heritage Centre, highlighted in her speech the contribution the area had made to the industrial revolution and mining ...

Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, travelled to Nicosia, Cyprus, from May 8-10, 2007 to deliver the 4th Dinos Leventis Memorial Lecture. The lecture series is intended to commemorate the figure of Dinos Leventis, former Ambassador of Cyprus to UNESCO and founder of the internationally renowned Leventis Foundation, deceased in 2002. The lecture, entitled ...

In November 2006, the World Heritage Centre signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to establish the first World Heritage Digital Center (WHDC) under the leadership of Dr. Ching-chih Chen, information technology Professor at Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science. "The World Heritage Centre considers this ...