News

The project ‘Protection, Preservation and Prosperity: Stories of World Heritage,’ is being launched today by UNESCO and the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate the World Heritage Convention. Using mobile phone technology to reach the wider public, the project focuses on 10 World Heritage sites which embody, in particular, the role of local communities in World Heritage ...

In light of escalated violence in the vicinity of several historic urban areas in Syria, the Director-General reiterates her appeal of 30 March 2012, to all parties involved in the conflict to protect all Syrian cultural heritage. UNESCO is particularly alarmed over reports of heavy fighting in Aleppo, which ancient city is a World Heritage site. Strategically positioned on historic trade ...

Echoing the call of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, the World Heritage Committee has established a Special Fund to support Mali’s efforts to safeguard the World Heritage properties affected by the armed conflict in the north of the country, notably the sites of Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia in Gao. The Fund will support the Government of Mali in assessing damage at the sites, ...

On June 24, a group of armed rebels attacked the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, situated in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing seven park staff- and their family members. Others were taken hostage or are unaccounted for. The entire Reserve infrastructure was destroyed and the 15 okapi of the Epulu Breeding and Research Station were all killed. Epulu plays ...

The record of the "International Expert Meeting on the 40th Anniversary" which was held on 16 February 2012 is now available on the Japan ICOMOS website in English and Japanese. http://www.japan-icomos.org/news.html

The World Heritage Centre and the French Marine Protected Area Agency (AAMP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the conservation of marine World Heritage sites. The World Heritage Centre and  AAMP have cooperated informally over the past years, in particular on efforts for the conservation marine World Heritage in the Indian Ocean and strengthening the World Heritage ...

The World Heritage Committee Friday closed its 36th session after almost two weeks of work under the chair of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Ambassador of Russia to UNESCO. The Committee added 26 new sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the session.  It marked the 40th anniversary of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The new ...

UNESCO and the nongovernmental organization Fauna and Flora International are launching an emergency appeal to support the staff and rebuild the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Epulu, a small village in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  On 24 June, poachers armed with AK47 rifles attacked the facility and killed seven people, including two ...

The World Heritage Thematic Programme, Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS) https://whc.unesco.org/en/heads/, collaborated with the UNESCO Science Sector in the organization of the 21st International Radiocarbon Conference, held from 9 to 13 July 2012, at UNESCO Headquarters. Nuria Sanz, General Coordinator of the HEADS Programme at the World Heritage ...

After a three-day expert meeting held in Italy and ending on 20 June 2012, participants concluded that there is further potential for European beech forests as World Natural Heritage.   The workshop was held in the context of the existing site “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany”, and demonstrated how World Heritage was ...

The World Heritage Committee on 2 July condemned the destruction of World Heritage sites in Mali and decided on measures to help the country protect its heritage. In its decision, the 21-member Committee responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention, called on the Director-General of UNESCO to create a special fund to help Mali in the conservation of its cultural heritage. The ...

The World Heritage Committee on Monday morning inscribed Lena Pillars Nature Park of the Russian Federation, the last site to be added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List during this year’s session. Chad, Congo, Palau and Palestine had World Heritage sites inscribed on the List for the first time. Lena Pillars Nature Park is marked by spectacular rock pillars that reach a height of approximately ...

The World Heritage Committee on Sunday inscribed eight new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, including Chad’s first World Heritage property. Inscriptions will continue tomorrow Monday. The new sites are: Major Mining Sites of Walonia (Belgium): The four sites of the property form a strip that is 170km long by 3 to 15 km, crossing Belgium from east to west. It consists of the ...