News

A series of online workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) in collaboration with ICOMOS to support Iraq in its efforts towards the conservation of World Heritage properties, particularly those inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Within the framework of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project for 'Strengthening capacities in state of ...

UNESCO Member States are invited to complete the survey to report on their implementation of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) based on an assessment of the situation for the period 2019-2022.  In 2022, the survey contains two sections: Section A, concerning the implementation of the HUL Recommendation at national level, and Section B, concerning the ...

UNESCO is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training of Madagascar (METFP) for the creation of green jobs to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen the protection of Rainforests of the Atsinanana, UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Located in the south-east of Madagascar, Andohahela straddles Fort-Dauphin and Amboasary Sud in Anosy ...

According to a new count, 152 cultural sites in Ukraine have been partially or totally destroyed since the beginning of the war. UNESCO reiterates its call to respect international law, and continues its actions in support of cultural professionals in the field. On Thursday, UNESCO published an updated assessment of the damage caused to cultural sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, when ...

In the last 12 months, 145 cities, institutions and individuals have signed up to the HUL Call for Action to raise awareness about the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) and to accelerate inclusive urban and heritage management. Responses came from 59 countries from all regions of the world. They included stakeholders from academia, cultural institutions, the ...

Equinor, one of the leading energy companies and an important player in the oil and gas sector and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a leading standard-setting organization for the jewellery and watch industry, have confirmed their commitments to safeguard World Heritage sites. With an aim to preserve biodiversity and sensitive areas, and to reverse nature loss by 2030, Equinor ...

Between February and March 2022, UNESCO supported the emergency clearing of the riverbeds of the Jam and Hari Rivers along the side of the Minaret of Jam World Heritage property in Afghanistan, to prevent the impact of seasonal flash floods. The Minaret of Jam was the first Afghan site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, in 2002. Due to its fragility, it was immediately placed on the ...

In line with UNESCO’s Priority Africa, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) is supporting 10 African countries without inscribed World Heritage properties (Burundi, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan) through the “Capacity-building programme for the nomination of World Heritage sites in the Africa Region,” ...

Under the presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat has set up the programme "I discover my heritage" for the benefit of 3720 secondary school students from 62 secondary schools in Rabat in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports and the Ministry of Youth, Culture and ...

The project “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, will be carried out from 2022 to 2024. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to national lockdowns and global travel restrictions and  to the closure of ...

As we celebrate 50 years of global environmental action for the anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, a side-event commemorated the birth and achievements of four key biodiversity-related Conventions adopted in the 1970s: the Ramsar Convention, the World Heritage Convention, CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species. Watch the event ...

A fire in Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest, burning for over two months, escalated to uncontrolled levels on the northern slopes in February. The Rapid Response Facility (RRF), a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna and Flora International joint initiative providing small grants in emergency situations affecting biodiversity within natural World Heritage sites mobilized US$40,000 to ...

Resilience and Re-mobilization towards World Heritage The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the selected projects of the World Heritage Volunteers 2022 Campaign! Under the theme Resilience and Re-mobilization towards World Heritage, 59 action camp projects will be implemented from June to December 2022 at 56 World Heritage properties and sites on the Tentative Lists, by 44 ...

In recent decades, Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, has been a major target for poachers greedy for ivory and bushmeat. In response to these threats, UNESCO contributed to the management efforts undertaken in the Park by strengthening the ecological monitoring of key wild species (elephants and giraffes) and by ...

With support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust, community meetings were held in each of the four villages in the East Rennell World Heritage site on 28 April and 1 May 2022, to explore potential nature-based, sustainable livelihoods in East Rennell that would be compatible with the World Heritage values. East Rennell is the first natural property inscribed on the World Heritage List ...

On 9 May 2022, UNESCO organized an online meeting to discuss the removal of African properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Despite the richness and diversity of Africa’s cultural and natural heritage, the Sub-Saharan African region is one of the least represented regions  on the World Heritage List, but still registers the highest number of endangered properties. The meeting ...

The International Centre for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO was officially established in the Republic of Korea, on 23 May 2022. The Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr Ernesto Ottone R., signed the final Agreement for this UNESCO Category 2 Centre, together with Mr Eung-chon CHOI, Administrator of the ...

UNESCO and Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN) sign an agreement to support eco-tourism and income-generating activities in Lopé National Park. The partnership between UNESCO and ANPN, worth US$ 200,000 over a period of two years, will help to materialize a long-term vision to support the communities living in the Lopé National Park to establish a link between eco-tourism and ...

International Day for Biological Diversity 2022 is being celebrated under the theme: Building a shared future for all life. This slogan is very fitting as the 1972 World Heritage Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary and we reflect on the next 50 years of the Convention and its shared future for all life. It follows the 50th anniversary of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme ...

African World Heritage Day is celebrated annually on the 5th of May to remember and acknowledge the importance of promoting and safeguarding the UNESCO World Heritage in Africa for the benefit of present and future generations. To celebrate the 7th edition of African World Heritage Day, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), ...