Activities
The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve.
World Heritage Online Map Platform
Funded by the Flanders UNESCO Trustfund (FUT), this project aims to develop an online geographic information system for World Heritage.
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Reducing Disasters Risks at World Heritage Properties
World Heritage properties and heritage sites in general are exposed to the impacts of natural and man-triggered catastrophic events, which threaten their integrity and may compromise their value. The loss or ...
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World Heritage and Indigenous Peoples
Many cultural and natural World Heritage sites are home to indigenous peoples. As the UNESCO policy on engaging with indigenous peoples recognizes, World Heritage sites are often located within land managed by ...
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World Heritage Site Managers' Forum
In recent years, it has become an established practice that a forum is organised in conjunction with each World Heritage Committee session. Since the 41st session of the Committee (Krakow, 2017), site managers from ...
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Preparatory assistance for the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear, Cambodia
The Temple of Preah Vihear, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is situated on Cambodia’s northern border with Thailand. The property consists of a series of sanctuaries which are linked by a network of paths ...
The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was signed on 16 November 1972. The 30th Anniversary celebrations included the organization of the international conference “World ...
Business Skills for Natural World Heritage Site Managers programme
The Business Skills for Natural World Heritage Site Managers programme is a collaboration between international environmental charity Earthwatch, global energy company Shell and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The ...
Thanks to the support of the Government of Japan, the four-year “Capacity-building programme for the nomination of World Heritage sites in the Africa Region”, in line with UNESCO Global Priority Africa, aims at ...
Case Studies on the Conservation and Management of Historic Cities
Since 2008, the World Heritage Centre, within the framework of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, supported and participated in the initiative “Developing Historic Cities: Keys for Understanding and Taking ...
Conservation and preservation of the city of Constantine, Algeria
The project in Constantine is part of the cross-sector project “Poverty Reduction through Sustainable World Heritage Management”, launched in 2002, on the theme of eliminating poverty and extreme poverty through the ...
Enhancing our Heritage- Monitoring and managing for success in World Natural Heritage sites
Enhancing Our Heritage - Monitoring and Managing for Success in World Natural Heritage Sites was a seven-year UNESCO/IUCN project funded by the United Nations Foundation. The project commenced in 2001 and operated ...
Heritage and poverty alleviation (Senegal, Benin, Lao People's Democratic Republic, China, Guyana)
Urban heritage preservation policies, when separated from development strategies, can lead to a marginalization of the poorest populations. Constraints caused by regulations, in the absence of assistance mechanisms, ...
Initiative on Heritage of Religious Interest
There exist a great variety of religious and sacred sites that are representative of the different cultures and traditions of the world. Approximately 20 percent of the properties inscribed on the World Heritage ...
Management of World Heritage Sites in Armenia
UNESCO seeks to encourage the identification, protection, preservation and conservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in the ...
Within the framework of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, the French Ministry of Culture and the Director General of heritage for several African countries organized a week of meetings for directors of the ...
Founded in the ninth century, the Agadez, Niger, occupies a prominent position on the crossroads of the principal commercial routes of the Sahara, which allowed it to play an important role in the region until the ...
The France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, similar to the technical cooperation provided to the Town of Luang Prabang in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, has provided technical and financial support to national ...
Preparatory assistance for inscription of the Royal Domain of Mbé cultural landscape, Congo
Located 200km from Brazzaville, Congo, the Royal Domain of the Mbé was inscribed on the Tentative Lists in 2008. The property, which is also of significant historical value, is made up of a group of areas linked to ...
The Ehotilé Islands National Park is a group of six islands situated along the eastern shoreline of the Côte d’Ivoire that shelters a complex and diverse flora and fauna. It was listed as a Ramsar Site (see the ...
Preparatory assistance for the inscription of Issyk Kul warm-water lake, Kyrgyzstan
North of the Tian Shan Mountains, 1608 m above sea level, is the Issyk Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, a natural reservoir of warm water contained in a region famous for its natural resources. In the Soviet era, the lake was ...
Preparatory assistance for the inscription of Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, Togo
The Koutammakou landscape in north-eastern Togo, which extends into neighboring Benin, is home to the Batammariba people whose remarkable mud tower-houses have become a symbol of Togo. In this landscape, nature is ...
Preparatory assistance for the inscription of Stone Circles of Senegambia
Africa is underrepresented on the World Heritage List, particularly concerning archaeological sites. This is why it is important to assist countries in the preparation of nominations. In a territory approximately ...
The Ancient Villages of Northern Syria constitute one of the most extraordinary archeological ensembles in the world. There are more than 700 sites from the Roman and Byzantine eras located in a vast region. They ...
In the 19th century, the riches of Chile aroused the greed of European and American powers, resulting in the establishment of large industrial plants, including intensive saltpetre mining companies. The production ...
Preparatory assistance for the inscription of the Southern Oasis of Morocco
At the initiative of the Permanent Delegation of Morocco and the “Agence pour la promotion et le développement économique culturel et social des provinces du Sud du Royaume du Maroc” (agency for the economic, ...
Preparatory assistance for the Slave Route, Benin
Wishing to submit the Slave Route (running from Djougou in the north of Benin to Ouidah, and passing through the Royal Palaces of Abomey) for inscription on the World Heritage List, the Benin authorities submitted a ...
Restauration and revitalisation of the Complex of Hué Monuments and historical town, Viet Nam
Hué, Viet Nam, is one of the last large fortified citadel cities of south-east Asia which was the imperial capital until 1945. The Complex of Hué Monuments has exceptional architectural and landscape heritage which ...
This project’s objective was to provide technical assistance to set up management and conservation plans on several sites distributed across a vast territory.600 km south of Algiers, Algeria, the small M'Zab ...
Seminar in Cinque Terre (Italy) on cultural landscapes
In 1992, the World Heritage Committee changed the Operational Guidelines for the inscription of cultural landscapes on the World Heritage List. It was defined as the “combined works of nature and man” as set out in ...
State of conservation Information System
Conservation, at the core of the World Heritage Convention Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention refers to the conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List and indicates that “each State ...
Support for African local governments in the field of heritage (EU-AIMF project)
In 2009, a programme called “Heritage and Development” was initiated under the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement to respond to the requests expressed during the special sessions of the Africities Summits on ...
Support for conservation and management of the Historic Town of Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire
Grand-Bassam is the first capital of the former French colony of Côte d’Ivoire, from 1893 to 1900. The historic city, or “France quarter” as it was called, was built on a stretch of land between the Ouladine Lake to ...
Managing a heritage site today involves much more than just conservation. It's also about site protection, enhancement and the arrangements for hosting and managing visitor flows, as well as commitment to developing ...
The property Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape, Lao People's Democratic Republic, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001, as a cultural landscape, at the ...
Support for the establishment of the national inventory of cultural heritage of Senegal
The President of the Republic of Senegal (by Decree 2001-1065 of 20 December 2001) requested the Ministry of Culture (in particular, the Department of Cultural Heritage) conduct an inventory of historical sites and ...
Support for the identification, safeguarding and protection of heritage in Comoros
The Comoros islands possess a rich cultural and material heritage as well as a rich intangible heritage. The country ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2000 and identified 4 sites for inscription on the ...
Technical assistance for the conservation of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, India
Situated in an exceptionally beautiful landscape and covering a vast area of 42 km2, Hampi, in India, contains major archaeological remains of what was once the capital of the last great Hindu kingdom and one of the ...
The rationale of this project was to provide technical assistance through an advisory mission for the development of management mechanisms and tourism management for two recently inscribed sites, one natural and one ...
Zeugma is an ancient city situated on the Euphrates south of Turkey. It is composed of two cities on either side of the Euphrates: Seleucia and Apamea. The construction of a new dam on the Euphrates in Turkey ...
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) was the first of three mountain railways of India to be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The property was extended in 2005 and 2008 to include two other railroads ...
Technical Assistance for the protection and development of Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco
Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, in Morocco, is a fortified village of adobe buildings and is an interesting example of earthen architecture in North Africa. It contains barns and dwellings within its defensive walls, which ...
The Historic Centre of Riga, Latvia, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 for its urban and architectural values. The city’s urban morphology is a fine example of the development and evolution phases of ...
Technical assistance for the valorisation of the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan
The Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1981. The inscribed property includes two distinct royal complexes, the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, ...
The Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (Mauritania) were founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres became rich and ...
The technical cooperation for the protection, enhancement and development of the Town of Luang Prabang, Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a remarkable example of tripartite cooperation between the Lao People's ...
The Inventory of the historic city of Sana'a: a tool for urban conservation
This publication documents the main outcomes of the studies undertaken in 2003 - 2006, by UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and the General Organisation for the Preservation of the Historic Cities of Yemen (GOPHCY), in ...
Cities and urban areas are the most represented types of heritage on the World Heritage List. World Heritage Cities are also among the World Heritage Properties that appear most often in state of conservation ...
The Arctic Ocean urgently needs protection as melting sea ice is opening up previously inaccessible areas to activities such as shipping, bottom trawl fishing and oil exploration, according to a scientific report ...
Development of a World Heritage Information Management capacity in the Arab State
The project consists of four core activities The creation and the development of an Arabic language web site on the World Heritage in the Arab Region, in cooperation with the a regional partner (possibly the Al ...
Capacity building “Cultural heritage and local development”, 18-21 November 2008, Porto Novo, Benin
Held on 18-21 November 2008 in Porto Novo, Benin, the first training session of the programme “Cultural heritage and local development” gathered local representatives from Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso. Held at the ...
The present staff needs to have more knowledge in order to manage this complex situation. This knowledge should be given through a training, which aim should be to move one step closer to effective ...
UNF launched a “Friends of World Heritage” partnership program in September 2003 during the World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa . A newsletter and web site were set up to support the program and inform the ...
Tunisia - Development of an emergency plan for the safeguard of the Ichkeul National Park
The program consists first in organizing a study preparatory workshop in order to elaborate the strategy that should lead to a sustainable use of the water resources of the Ichkeul National Park, then in monitoring ...
Business Planning for World Heritage Site Managers - a Toolkit
This project focused on strengthening the business planning capacity of non-profit organisations (government agencies, NGOs) charged with the responsibility for the management and protection of natural World ...