UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova today expressed distress and dismay over the fire that severely damaged the ancient markets in the old city of Aleppo, a World Heritage site, over the weekend. She also reminded all parties of the country’s obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to which Syria is a ...

The International Protection of Landscapes meeting was organized by UNESCO and the International Traditional Knowledge Institute and held in Florence, Italy from 19 to 21 September to mark the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention.  The Florence Declaration on Landscape 2012 was produced during the session. Cultural heritage is an evolving historical category subject to ...

On 19 June 2012, the Government of Singapore officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 190th State Party to accept the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Convention has entered into force for this State Party on 19 September 2012.

It was with great sadness that the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, learned of the passing of Russell E. Train, former President of the World Wildlife Fund, who died on 17 September at the age of 92. Russell E. Train was a renowned US conservationist who played a central role in creating groundbreaking laws in response to rising concerns about environmental protection in America and ...

A study commissioned by the World Heritage Centre reviews the total carbon stored in trees, leaves forest litter and soil for all 106 World Heritage forest sites.  Carried out by Mr. Devendra Pandey, the former Director General of the Indian Forest Survey, the study is the first to look specifically at World Heritage forests sites, combining information from different sources, to obtain ...

On Saturday 15 September, the IUCN World Conservation Congress ended on the Island of Jeju, Republic of Korea, which harbors the “Jeju Volcanos Island and Lava Tubes” World Heritage site. Held every four years, the congress is the world’s largest and most important conservation event and the current edition was attended by 10,000 people, including 5,000 conservation experts ...

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Responsible Business Week to run from 17-23 September 2012 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts today embarks on a week-long programme of activities around the world to help protect and preserve unique cultural heritage sites as part of Responsible Business Week 2012. This marks the third year of InterContinental’s Responsible Business Week in ...

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova traveled to Colonia del Sacramento today, and visited the old city, which became the first World Heritage site of Uruguay in 1995. She was accompanied by the Minister of Culture and Education, Mr. Ricardo Erlich and by the Permanent Delegate of Uruguay to UNESCO, Ambassador Omar Mesa Gonzalez. During her visit, she met with local officials and discussed ...

The Jurassic Coast Earth Festival 2012 was a celebration of England’s only natural World Heritage Site – the Dorset and EastDevonCoast, commonly known as the JurassicCoast.  The 95 miles of coastline from Exmouth to StudlandBay tells the story of 185 million years of the earth’s history through its geological exposures and landforms, and is inscribed on the list under ...

The IUCN World Conservation Congress, the world’s largest and most important conservation event, began 6 September on the Island of Jeju, Republic of Korea. Held every four years, the Congress aims to improve how we manage our natural environment for human, social and economic development. The Island of Jeju harbors one of Korea’s natural World Heritage sites (Jeju Volcanic ...

The  recently established Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) in Manama, Bahrain, is currently recruiting a Culture Heritage Specialist. The incumbent will be responsible for the implementation of Cultural Heritage Programme for the Arab Region in ARCWH. The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage was established as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO to ...

Featuring a useful week-at-a-glance design, the Desk Diary is illustrated with colour photos of World Heritage sites, each accompanied with a short caption. It also introduces the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage; its objectives, the selection criteria, the institutions which ensure its implementation, as well as the list of States Parties ...

During her visit to Naples on the occasion of the World Urban Forum organized by UN-HABITAT, the Director-General, Irina Bokova, commended the Italian authorities, and in particular the Municipal authorities and Superintendency of Region for the positive emergency conservation achievements at the World Heritage archaeological complex of Pompei, following the collapse of walls in 2010 and ...