News

Solemn appeals for the preservation of the heritage of humanity and colourful cultural performances marked the opening of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh on 16 June.  The opening ceremony was marked by the moving return to Cambodia of two major art treasures of the 10th century by Emily K. Rafferty, President of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art ...

From 23 to 26 April 2013, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre, partner of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre since 2008, organized its fourth online auction for the benefit of World Heritage marine sites. This year, the Manufacture auctioned a watch inspired by the Memovox Deep Sea of 1959: Prototype N° 1 of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph ...

Enter a Competition for the chance to win 1 of 5 copies of World Heritage: Benefits Beyond Borders! This book was jointly published by UNESCO and Cambridge University Press on the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. It is a cross-disciplinary collection of case studies providing a meeting point for researchers, practitioners and community representatives and promoting ...

This newly published brochure "New life for historic cities: The historic urban landscape approach explained" introduces the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, which was adopted on 10 November 2011 by the 36th session of UNESCO's General Conference, and how to apply the Historic Urban Landscape approach in the local context. UNESCO's approach to managing historic urban ...

Participants to the 5th annual World Heritage Centre / Earthwatch / Shell "Business Planning for natural World Heritage site managers" year long training programme have just been informed of their successful candidacies.    In October 2013, 18 World Heritage site staff from 6 sites in Africa will travel to the Mpala Research Centre  in the shadow of Mount Kenya World ...

“UNESCO saved the temples of Egypt and rebuilt the Mostar Bridge. UNESCO will rebuild the mausoleums of Mali,“ said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova during the ceremony on 5 June to award French President Francois Hollande the UNESCO-Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize. The first steps towards this project were taken this week when a  UNESCO team of experts visited ...

Over 1,000 new species have been discovered at marine sites since their inscription on the World Heritage List. This data has been compiled in UNESCO’s global marine biodiversity data portal Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). The 1972 World Heritage Convention protects 46 marine sites in recognition of their exceptional natural phenomena, their geological processes, ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has published a brochure reporting the events and activities carried out in 2012 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This colorful, illustrated publication provides a record of the various initiatives that the World Heritage community undertook at the international, national and local levels-- more than 120 events in 48 ...

The World Heritage Committee will consider the inscription of 32 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its next session, from 16 to 27 June in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia).  Media wishing to attend the meeting must register online. The Committee’s debates, chaired by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, will also be webcast. A press conference with the ...

With almost a thousand sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, the reach of the World Heritage Convention is vast. To better present one important issue and the work that’s being done to make a difference, UNESCO has produced an infographic on rhinoceros conservation. This attractive, easy to follow poster describes the plight of several rhinoceros species in Africa and Asia, and how ...

The Tubbataha Reef sprawls across 100,000 hectares and supports over 350 species of coral and almost 500 species of fish.  Earlier this year, two vessels grounded in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park – a jewel in the middle of Philippines' Sulu Sea. First a U.S. Navy ship grounded on the reef in January. A couple of months later, a Chinese fishing ...

In the wake of alarming media reports on damage to several historic and religious sites in various regions of Syria, I wish to express my grave concern for the safety of Syria’s cultural heritage. I call upon the perpetrators to cease the destruction immediately and demonstrate respect for the beliefs and traditions of all Syrians. I also strongly urge all the parties to the conflict ...

Most people know Bamiyan as the site where giant statutes of the Buddha were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.  But it is the location of other important archaeological sites too, such as Shahr-i-Zohak (Red City), an impressive mass of ruins that was once the fortress protecting the entrance to Bamiyan in the 12th and 13th centuries.  Now this site will be restored and conserved as part of a ...

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a World Heritage Fellow, Mr. Anoop K.R., Director of Keoladeo National Park in India and Deputy Conservator of Forests in the Bharatpur District of Rajasthan.  As a recognized World Heritage site, the Park is participating in this fellowship program which allows professionals from other heritage sites a unique opportunity to temporarily ...

The Nordic World Heritage Fund (NWHF) and the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research in the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITR-AP), have signed a cooperation agreement as an extension of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2009. Ms Anne-Kristin Endresen, Director of NWHF, and Mr Jian Zhou, Director of WHITR-AP, represented their organizations. NWHF and WHITR-AP are centres that ...

Following certain media announcements reporting on the cancellation of the UNESCO Mission to the Old City of Jerusalem, Director-General Irina Bokova wishes to underscore that contrary to such information, consultations are being pursued by the Government of Israel, and the Palestinian and Jordanian authorities with a view to finalizing the terms of the mission and determining its date.

On the 3rd of May, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) received a request for emergency support in confronting a surge of rosewood poaching in Dong Phayayen Kao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage site.  The petitioners/advocates explained that poaching was becoming more organized and had for the first time turned deadly.  On March 14th, 33 year-old Thaweesak Chomyong, a park ranger, ...

World Heritage Education Programme is pleased to announce the release  of "Patrimonito’s World Heritage Adventures" cartoon series. The mentioned episodes are dedicated to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. Episode 10thLebanon (Sustainable Development for the Site of Ouaid Qadisha and the Forest of the Cedars of ...

On 30 April 2013, UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) renewed their Memorandum of Understanding at the Organization’s Headquarters. The agreement has been concluded in the framework of the thematic initiative “Astronomy and World Heritage”, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The purpose of the initiative is to reinforce the links between science and ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has expressed deep concern over the rise of armed violence, poaching and destruction in the Dzanga-Sanga National Park, in Central African Republic. The site is part of Sangha Trinational, inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2012 and located in the north-western Congo Basin, at the meeting point between Cameroon, Congo and the ...