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Initially protected by the broadest expanses of virtually impenetrable tropical rainforest on Earth, Brazil still takes prides in a stunning variety of species found nowhere else. With giant snakes such as the anaconda, minuscule hummingbirds, iridescent blue butterflies, voracious piranhas, the fauna of Brazil seems to haunt the imagination of humanity quite as much as it ...

Modern heritage – the architecture, town planning and landscape design of the modern era, or the last two hundred years or so – is still underrepresented on the World Heritage List. And yet it is an integral part of many urban ensembles, which represent a majority of sites on the List. Raising awareness of the significance of this heritage, and addressing issues on its ...

Cities are among the most quickly evolving environments on the planet. Over half of the world’s population lives in cities today, and knowing how to manage these urban areas as they grow, so that we can both cherish our history and yet help them to flourish socially, culturally and economically while they meet our needs, is a complex and monumental task. We examine these ...

The issues of World Heritage published during 2012 have largely been devoted to commemorating the adoption of the World Heritage Convention forty years ago, in 1972. This has not been a self-congratulatory exercise but rather an analytical survey, which offers some fascinating insights into the unique contribution that the Convention has made and is still making to global ...

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee is taking place in Istanbul from 10 to 20 July 2016, and we are extremely grateful to Turkey for generously hosting this session. Turkey is a country at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with a diverse heritage of civilizations that have been a cultural and historical influence worldwide. It is home to fifteen World ...

Special issue on World Heritage sites in the Baltic region, at the occasion of the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee held from July 8-16 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Table of Contents A Message from UNESCO Director-General Mr Koïchiro Matsuura An Interview with His Excellency Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador ...

Cultural World Heritage sites are representative of the creativity and genius of humanity. While World Heritage belongs to everyone, and we share the responsibility to protect it, each site embodies the history, values, beliefs and skills of the people who created it. Whenever a cultural site is destroyed, it is a particularly devastating loss for those who hold the site ...

It is a great pleasure to meet for this extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee to be held from 16 to 31 July 2021 in Fuzhou, China and online. As China is home to a prodigious array of stunning natural sites and ancient cultural sites – from the iconic Great Wall and the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries to the Silk Roads and the amazing round buildings of the ...

The Silk Roads encompass some of the most complex and fascinating systems in the history of world civilizations. A shifting network of roads and pathways for trade that evolved over centuries, it enabled the exchange of cargo such as silk, spices, gems, furs, but also shared art, religion and technology. It is also one of the first cultural ‘corridors’ to be inscribed on ...

From 1 to 10 September 2016, thousands of leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business and academia will gather together in Honolulu (Hawaii) to share ideas on how to improve the ways we manage the natural environment for human, social and economic development. Held every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) ...

Each issue of the World Heritage magazine goes beyond a visual account of cultural and natural sites: it invites readers to understand their significance and their uniqueness and to take action for their long-term protection. Through its articles, images and testimonies, the magazine embodies UNESCO’s commitment to making World Heritage a lever for resilience, ...

The Great Barrier Reef Potosi Asante Traditional Buildings Hue I Sassi di Matera And also... Flemish Beguinages News

The reconstruction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, following the fire of 2019, illustrates the enduring relevance of World Heritage – a precious legacy that transcends time, unites people and reflects our collective commitment to preserving these treasures for future generations. The immediate mobilisation that followed this painful event revealed the depth of ...

Historic urban walls were once used for division and protection, and remain a legacy of the complex relations between people and their environment. Today, they represent a fascinating aspect of cultural heritage management. They attract visitors and can be considered part of the attempt to balance sustainable social and economic development and the conservation of ...

The Destruction of Bamyan The Netherlands Keeping Water at Bay Tres Serols Mont Perdu The Qadisha Valley Heritage Reclaimed The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park And also... Interview World Heritage in Danger News IUCN Churches of Chiloe

UNESCO's World Heritage is much more than a List of remarkable sites. It represents the common heritage of humanity – a collection of cultural and natural treasures that transcend borders and generations. These sites tell the story of our world, illustrating our diversity, creativity and resilience through the ages. India, a land of millennia of history, is a living ...

There was a time when the world appeared boundless and inexhaustible. We are just beginning to realize that it is both limited and surprisingly vulnerable. It follows that if we are to survive at all as a species, we shall have to learn to see the world in a different light. Warnings have been sounded. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, opened the international ...

This special issue of World Heritage is about interlinkages between nature and culture. One of the defining characteristics of the World Heritage Convention is that the governance of both natural and cultural values of Outstanding Universal Value falls under one international instrument, but we have still to harness the full potential it offers to recognize and build on ...

The greater part of this issue is devoted to the reinstallation of the great stele of Aksum in Ethiopia, an exploit that ranks alongside such major UNESCO achievements as the safeguarding and restoration of the temples of Abu Simbel and Borobudur. The stele, removed from Aksum in 1937 after Mussolini’s army had marched into Ethiopia, was assembled and raised in Rome. ...

Special Issue - South Africa Message from Mr Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park, Protecting 'the Roof of Africa' World Heritage on the African Continent. A brief overview Mapungubwe National Park.Reinstating national pride and identity interview with the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Mr Themba P. Wakashe Robben ...