News

The World Heritage Centre expresses concerns over on-going bushfires at Fraser Island World Heritage area in Australia, the largest sand island in the world, and solidarity with the people affected by the blaze. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has been receiving expressions of concern over the possible impact of the bushfire on the World Heritage property “Fraser Island”. The property, ...

UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) supported an on-site firefighting training on 7 December 2020 for local communities and site management at the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi World Heritage site in Uganda organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Department of Museums and Monuments. The training is part of an ongoing HEF project for “Post-fire emergency ...

The Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mechtild Rössler, expressed concern after the fire that, on the afternoon of 11 October, broke out in Kilimanjaro National Park (United Republic of Tanzania), a property inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987. "We are in contact with the Tanzania National Park Authority (TANAPA) which is currently carrying out an initial assessment of ...

Following a devastating fire on 5 June 2020 at the World Heritage property of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi in Uganda, UNESCO, through the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF), is providing financial and technical assistance to support the urgent procurement and installation of a firefighting system at the property, as well as training in fire prevention and disaster risk management for the ...

UNESCO, through the World Heritage Centre and the Secretariat of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, is observing with attention and concern the large number of fires which have struck the Pantanal ecoregion in recent weeks. According to information provided by experts and firefighters on site as well as satellite data from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE - ...

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., joined the Buganda Kingdom and local communities in mourning the serious destruction of one of the sacred houses (Abalongo) at the Tombs of Buganda Kings of Kasubi, following a devastating fire which took place on 5 June, in Uganda, a property inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. "We are in contact with the ...

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., expressed his concern about the fire that, on the morning of 13 April, seriously affected the Milot Church inside the National Historic Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers, in Haiti, a property inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982. "We are in contact with the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN), ...

A year has passed since the fire that ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The Cathedral is part of the World Heritage site “Paris, Banks of the Seine” and a fine symbol of Gothic architecture. The flames tore through the upper levels of the 12th century cathedral on the evening of 15 April 2019, destroying two-thirds of its roof and collapsing its famous spire. Parisians and ...