News

On Thursday 4 April 2024, experts and managers from marine protected areas around the globe met online to exchange firsthand perspectives on tackling the effects of land-based pollution sources and water quality on coral reefs. The impacts of land-based pollution on coral reefs are significant and diverse, playing a major role in the degradation of reef ecosystems. Runoff containing ...

On 3 April 2024, the UNESCO World Heritage Secretariat organised a second Learning & Exchange workshop in the framework of the project entitled ‘Post COVID-19 World Heritage Site Management: Integration of Conservation, Tourism and Local Livelihood Strategies at World Heritage Sites’, funded by the government of Japan through the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust. The workshop started with ...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global tourism industry faced significant setbacks, particularly affecting economies heavily reliant on tourism, like Seychelles. The pandemic showed the vulnerability of tourism, leading to a drastic decline of over 70% in foreign visitors to Seychelles in 2020. This downturn highlighted the nation's dependence on tourism revenue to sustain its ...

In a pivotal moment for global sustainable development, the UNESCO-EU Regional Preparatory Capacity-Building Workshop  successfully gathered representatives from 24 countries, emphasizing the critical role of enhanced data collection in achieving culture-driven sustainable development. In alignment with the 2022 MONDIACULT Declaration, which emphasizes the pivotal role of data collection and ...

World Heritage in the 21st Century: Building Capacities and Exploring Opportunities for Youth As an integral part of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Ministry of Culture through the Archaeological Survey of India, will host the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024 under the theme of World ...

This is the story of an archaeological rescue operation of unprecedented scale. In the midst of the Cold War, under the aegis of UNESCO, around fifty countries managed to put aside their differences to save, together, the treasures of ancient Egypt. Threatened by the waters of the Aswan High Dam under construction, they risked being lost forever.  The Campaign for the Safeguarding of the ...

UNESCO and ICOMOS visited the Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro, Pakistan, in early March 2024 to monitor the restoration work and elaborate a strategy for drastic intervention in recovering from the disastrous rainfall of August 2022. Mohenjodaro, a world-renowned Indus civilisation metropolis dating back to the third millennium BCE, began to be excavated in 1922. From 1974 to 1997, UNESCO ...

Following the first case of Avian Influenza in the Galápagos, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF), a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna and Flora joint initiative has provided US$ 40,000 to support active surveillance of seabird populations, aiming to understand the extent and limit the spread of the potentially devastating virus. In mid-September 2023 the first case of H5N1 Avian ...

45 experts were trained on culture’s enabling contribution to the national and local implementation of the Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during a 4-day online training workshop from October 27, 2023, to January 17, 2024. The experts are pre-selected members of the latest cohort of the UNESCO/EU Expert Facility supporting the UNESCO programme “Advancing ...

In a groundbreaking move aimed at fostering socio-economic development and preserving cultural heritage, the Governments of Japan and the Kindgom of Saudi Arabia provided support of the Rehabilitation of the Majestic Cinema theatre in Stone Town of Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Government of Zanzibar has now agreed on the strategy, methodology and business plan for the ...

UNESCO in collaboration with the Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) authority have implemented a project titled “Empowering young women and men for adaptation to climate change at the Kilimanjaro National Park World Heritage site” funded by the Netherlands Funds in Trust (NFIT) from 2022 to 2023, as part of its support to the implementation of the Flagship Programme 3 of Priority Africa. ...

The Cook Islands and Tuvalu, two SIDS State Parties in the Pacific, submitted their first Tentative Lists in January 2024, marking a significant step in their continuing efforts on preserving their unique heritage. The Cook Islands officially submitted their first Tentative List to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on 17 January 2024, featuring the “Maungaroa Cultural Landscape” situated in ...

The Bern III Conference convened from 23-25 January 2024 in Bern, Switzerland, bringing together representatives of parties and secretariats of 16 Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including the 7 biodiversity-related Conventions, as well as stakeholders, organizations, and experts, to develop ideas for increased collaboration among MEAs at global, regional, and national levels in ...

The 15th episode of the Patrimonito cartoon series on the theme of World Heritage and Climate Change is now available. This episode of the Patrimonito cartoon series is based on the winning storyboard of the Partimonito Storyboard Competition in 2022. It was selected by a jury among 710 submissions from 47 State Parties from around the world. In this adventure, Patrimonito explores World ...

From 2021 to 2023, the UNESCO Office in Jakarta partnered with the Government of Sawahlunto and the Southeast Asia Museum Services to bring to life a project titled “Supporting Interpretative Strategy, Community Outreach and Community-Led Tourism in World Heritage Site: Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto Indonesia.” Built for the extraction, processing, and transport of high-quality ...

Last Friday, the Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems World Heritage site in France took a proactive step to safeguard its coral reefs with the launch of its first strategic reef resilience plan. The strategy brings all partners across the World Heritage-listed coral reef together behind a shared future for the reef. It is expected to boost climate change ...

The initiative aims to enhance the cultural, social, economic, and environmental value of the site and its integration with the Sustainable Development Goals. In an effort to empower the local community in the management and protection of the Maya Site of Copán, UNESCO has conducted an update workshop for the management plan. This workshop is an integral part of the project "Post-COVID-19 ...

The upcoming Mid-Cycle Review Workshop for World Heritage Focal Points, set to take place from 27-29 February 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa, is a cornerstone event for advancing the assessing the level of implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Africa 2021-2027, after its adoption by the World Heritage Committee in 2021. This workshop provides a unique forum for national focal points ...

First technical mission to the Jesuit Missions of Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe to launch risk management project In the framework of the project "Design and implementation of the Risk Management Plan for the Jesuit Missions of Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe, World Heritage site in Paraguay", financed by the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust and to be ...

UNESCO has launched a new digital platform, the UNESCO Urban Heritage Atlas that leverages the power of digital technology to support the conservation and management of the world’s historic cities and promote their diversity. Historic cities and settlements have their own unique character that is the outcome of the history, geography, local culture and influences that have shaped them. The ...