Activities

Biological diversity underpins ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services essential for human well-being. World Heritage properties are the most outstanding places on the planet and constitute a ...

The Urban Heritage Atlas is an atlas and an archive that documents and explains, visually, narratively and with analytical maps, the diversity and uniqueness of the world’s historic cities and settlements. As such, ...

The World Heritage Cities Programme is one of six thematic programmes formally approved and monitored by the World Heritage Committee. The programme concerns the development of a theoretical framework for urban ...

Understanding, managing and conserving World Heritage properties requires up-to-date knowledge and well-honed skills. To help build the capacity of all stakeholders in World Heritage – whether they are ...

The UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda (Culture|2030 Indicators) is a framework of thematic indicators whose purpose is to measure and monitor the progress of culture’s enabling contribution ...

50 flagship marine protected areas of Outstanding Universal Value: Beacons of Hope In a Changing Ocean

Across the extractives, finance, insurance and hydropower sectors, among others, major public and private companies and industry associations have committed to protect UNESCO World Heritage sites. They have often ...

Dive into Heritage is creating an innovative online platform that leverages digital technologies to safeguard and promote World Heritage sites and its related intangible heritage, and transmit it to future ...

Funded by the Flanders UNESCO Trustfund (FUT), an online geographic information system for World Heritage is being developed.

The Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) is an additional tool to integrate policies and practices of conservation of the built environment into the wider goals of urban development in ...

Covering an area estimated at 1.62 million km2, the forests of Central Africa are home to vital biodiversity for the planet and play a central role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration.

UNESCO launches “50 Minds for The Next 50” to convene fifty leading, innovative, bold, respected thinkers of our times from diverse disciplines for the most interdisciplinary discussion on World Heritage ever to be ...

Basic Texts of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, Edition December 2023

In recent years, the framework for training and research in the field of World Heritage has changed significantly. Among the factors that have contributed to these rapid changes, is the emerging of many new ...

World Heritage properties are affected by the impacts of climate change at present and in the future. Their continued preservation requires understanding these impacts to their Outstanding Universal Value and ...

There exist a great variety of Landscapes that are representative of the different regions of the world. Combined works of nature and humankind, they express a long and intimate relationship between peoples and ...

UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee have issued new guidance for assessing impacts from projects that could potentially affect the planet’s most precious heritage places. Designed ...

The goal of this Resource Manual is to help State Parties to manage natural values within World Heritage properties. As such it is aimed at natural and mixed World Heritage properties as well as cultural landscapes.

The World Heritage Convention is one of the most successful international instruments to protect the most extraordinary natural places on the planet, characterized by their natural beauty or outstanding ...

Post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction became an increasingly important issue after the destruction of cultural heritage sites in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nepal, Syria, and Yemen. ...

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 ...

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 ...

Heritage was long absent from the mainstream sustainable development debate despite its crucial importance to societies and the wide acknowledgment of its great potential to contribute to social, economic and ...

The UNESCO World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme represents a new approach based on dialogue and stakeholder cooperation where planning for tourism and heritage management is integrated at a destination ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, initiated as a UNESCO special project in 1994, gives young people a chance to voice their concerns and to become involved in the protection of our common cultural and ...

This large format full-color map features the World Heritage sites and brief explanations of the World Heritage Convention and the World Heritage conservation programmes, as well as superb photos of World Heritage ...

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are islands of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are some of the most beautiful places on Earth, with atolls of white sand beaches, mountain ...

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 ...

World HeritageVolunteers Initiative Within the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Initiative was launched in 2008 in collaboration with the Coordinating ...

The overarching vision of this World Heritage project is to establish links and channels of communication among World Heritage Site Managers around the world by providing a web and a social media platform to share ...

Education is the key to personal fulfilment, development, conservation, peace and well-being. Through education, young people can find new ways to build commitment and strengthen action in favour of preserving our ...

UNESCO advocates the reaffirmation of identity, mutual respect, dialogue, and unity in diversity, solidarity and a positive interaction among the cultures of the world. This is valid for all areas, including for ...

Tentative Lists are inventories of sites forming part of the cultural and natural heritage of a State Party, which have a strong potential to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. These national inventories are ...

The World Heritage Committee at its 41st session launched the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting and requested the World Heritage Centre ensure a holistic approach across all regions, by developing tools and guidance ...

Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention refers to the conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List and indicates that “Each State Party to this Convention recognizes that the duty of ensuring ...

Based on a strong appeal from national and local stakeholders, the 2030 Agenda adopted by the UN General Assembly integrated, for the first time, the role of culture, through cultural heritage and creativity, as an ...

50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention (16 November 2022): World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation

Environmental DNA Expeditions is a global, citizen science initiative that will help measure marine biodiversity, and the impacts climate change might have on the distribution patterns of marine life, across UNESCO ...

The importance of UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites for Global Biodiversity Facts & Figures © Adam Mitchell / Seychelles Island Foundation From the largest tropical seabird rookery to the ...

At the 43rd session in Baku (2019), the World Heritage Committee requested the State Parties “to continue reflecting on the mechanisms and tools needed to assess and guide interventions in and around urban ...

Rapid Response Facility (RRF) © Oreades The Rapid Response Facility (RRF) is a fund that provides grants to protected areas in the event of a sudden crisis. We mainly finance initiatives aimed at ...

Over the past few years, the security situation at the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex has become a major concern as several armed groups have been operating in the region, causing the evacuation of management staff in some ...

Although the overall urban fabric and townscape give Stone Town its unique character, many individual buildings of historical and architectural significance represent local architecture and building traditions. ...

Following the inscription of the Minaret and archaeological remains of Jam in the 'World Heritage List' and the 'List of the World Heritage in Danger' in 2002, the Government of Switzerland has decided to generously ...

Patrimonito Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures © Patrimonito means 'small heritage' in Spanish and the character represents a young heritage guardian. Patrimonito has been widely adopted ...

Phase III of this project aims to implement activities to ensure site security; ensure the structural stability of the two standing Giant Buddha niches; ensure adequate state of conservation of archaeological ...

New and Old Towns of Edinburgh  (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)UNESCO Urban Heritage Atlas: Cultural mapping of historic cities and settlements © Chris Fleming, CC BY-SA 2.0, via ...

Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres became focal points of Islamic culture. They have managed to preserve an urban fabric that ...

Historic Centre of Cordoba (Spain) UNESCO Urban Heritage Atlas: Cultural mapping of historic cities and settlements Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie, CC BY-SA, via Flickr World Heritage Cities UNESCO ...

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time, and with over 30 programs in the sciences, education, culture and communication sector, UNESCO is actively contributing to create knowledge, educate and ...

UNESCO has been taking action in the Congo Basin since 2000 in order to improve the conservation and the management of natural World Heritage sites, those already inscribed as well as those which have the potential ...

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 Second SEE World Heritage Youth Forum for peace and sustainable development was held from 6th until 11th April 2013 in Zajecar, Eastern Serbia, where the World Heritage site Gamzigrad – Felix Romuliana / Palace ...

CAWHFI component financed by the European Commission (2016-2020) Between 2016 and 2020, funding from the European Commission enabled CAWHFI to strengthen the monitoring of the TRIDOM and TNS landscapes, an area of ...

With 13,720 km², the Okapi Wildlife Reserve has rich biodiversity and a forest ecosystem with cultural and economic importance for the traditional nomadic pygmy hunters Mbuti and Efe who it is believed, have been ...

play_arrow The Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (PNMGSF) is the largest park in the Central African savannas. Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988, the park is a unique refuge of biodiversity, ...

Bangkok, in Thailand, is one of the most populated cities in the world, a symbol of uncontrolled urban growth, marked by heavy pollution and huge traffic problems. In 1998, a project entitled "Humanise Bangkok" was ...

Connecting river banks and cultures, bridge are a work which has, today, acquired great symbolic value, whether as historical testimony or contemporary creation. Reconstruction of the Mostar Bridge (which is part of ...

The 2021 publication compiles good practices and expert perspectives on the conservation and sustainable management of this serial property, including regarding tangible and intangible heritage conservation, ...

Instagram Video ContestOpen to 18 - 32 years old Post your video about an African World Heritage site using the hashtag #MyAfricanHeritage and stand the chance to win one of our prizes. Top ...

#OurLakeOhrid Photo & Story Contest © UNESCO The Photo Contest was organized in the framework of the Project: "Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and ...

The second Photo & Story Contest for the Lake Ohrid region and its natural and cultural heritage is organized within the framework of the project "Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary ...

#OurWorldHeritage Share your World Heritage story with the rest of the World © UNESCO #OurWorldHeritage is a social media campaign where people are invited to share their unique World Heritage ...

During the years 1976 – 1995 Unesco in collaboration with UNDP and the World Heritage Centre assisted Latin American governments in the establishment and execution of a regional project of cultural/urban and ...

The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). The term biodiversity describes the variety of all life and natural processes on Earth, including all living things from microscopic ...

World Heritage in the Digital Age. Conferences, workshops and special events (China, Egypt, France, Mexico, Senegal) On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, conferences and ...

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 ...

On the 25th Anniversary of the site's inscription on the World Heritage List, new tours aim to open the World Heritage site to everyone, including citizens with special needs. By partnering with relevant community ...

The 2021 publication Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) Quick Scan Method. Handbook for Indonesian University Lecturers aims to adapt the HUL Approach to the Indonesian context and promote interdisciplinary learning in ...

The focus of this Campaign is the safeguarding of all aspects of Afghan cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, including museums, monuments, archaeological sites, music, art, traditional crafts ...

Africa nature: a capacity building program for natural World Heritage in Africa The Africa Nature capacity building program was launched in 2011 to improve management effectiveness at natural World Heritage sites ...

At its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008), the World Heritage Committee discussed at length the issues related to the state of conservation of World Heritage properties. With Decision 32 COM 7B.129 (see Annex 1), it ...

From the 20 to the 23 September 2004, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre organised an international seminar involving official representatives and experts in the area of Archaeology in the Caribbean for the ...

The objective of this project was to establish a global network of World Heritage forests to assist the World Heritage Forest Programme.In 1998, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), IUCN and the ...

Created in 2003 within the framework of the Global Strategy for the balanced, representative and credible World Heritage List, as a pilot activity for the identification of the sites connected with astronomy, the ...

Dans le contexte du travail mené par l'UNESCO sur l'élaboration d'une nouvelle Recommandation internationale sur la question urbaine, une réunion d'experts français sur les « paysages urbains historiques » s'est ...

The initiative Atlas World Heritage brings together the cities of Florence, Santiago de Compostela, Edinburgh, Oporto, Bordeaux to share their experiences and strategies to safeguard the sites’ OUV. The project has ...

The Avebury Residents' Pack, developed between 2006 and 2008 by the local world heritage management office, aimed to reconnect the local communities with the archaeological sites in the village, bringing together ...

Highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as bird flu, is causing significant mortality of wild birds and mammals worldwide, requiring authorities to take action to curb its spread. Previously affecting mostly ...

The inscription of the Historic Town of Grand-Bassam on the World Heritage List has provided new opportunities to promote sustainable development in the city. From the creation of a local World Heritage management ...

Extrabudgetary Support for UNESCO’S World Heritage Convention The opportunities for the application of the World Heritage Convention regarding the identification and conservation of the world’s most outstanding ...

Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Parc national des Virunga © Kim S. Gjerstad A program aimed at preserving ...

A variety of projects aim to protect Cusco’s cultural heritage, promote social development through crafts and strengthen traditional knowledge for sustainable development.

In 2009, on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, a booklet describing the heritage safeguarding and valorisation activities implemented in the first 10 years (1999-2009), ...

UNESCO Bosnia and Herzegovina and the cities of Ljubuški, Banja Luka, Trebinje, Mostar, Sarajevo and the Canton of SarajevoProject Page © Silvan Rehfeld / Old Bridge Area of the Old City of ...

The multi-level, heritage-based development and spatial plan aims to link the World Heritage site and buffer zone with the wider city context by using town planning as a tool to bridge spatial and social divides.

The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System is facing multiple impacts of climate change such as coral bleaching, more severe storms, and rising sea levels. The Resilient Reefs Initiative is focused on building Belize’s ...

Objectives Established in 1959 as a multiple land use area, with wildlife coexisting with semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists practicing traditional livestock grazing, Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) was inscribed ...

Building the skills to care for Georgia’s Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands © Around 100 people are employed across the parks and protected areas that make up the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands ...

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 ...