News

The Maya Site of Copán is an important archaeological site inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1980. With the support of UNESCO, Honduras has begun a collaborative process to develop an updated management plan for the Maya Site of Copan, an important archaeological site inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1980. This process started between May 17 and 19, 2023, through a ...

UNESCO is concerned about reports of proposed legislative changes at the regional level to the Special Management Plan for the Irrigation Zones in the northern part of the Forest Crown of Doñana (the “Strawberry Plan”), which could threaten the very reasons for the recognition of Doñana National Park as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Doñana has also been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since ...

Each year, between the end of May and the beginning of June, three international days serve as a reminder of three vital and interdependent issues on which the future of our planet depends: biological diversity, the environment and the ocean. And with each year comes an even greater need to understand the urgency of coming together and tackling the immense challenge of preserving nature and ...

On 18 May 2023, Tuvalu became the 195th State Party to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972). With this new ratification, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention nears universal recognition, as one of the most ratified legal instruments in the world. Represented by H.E. Samuelu Laloniu, Special Envoy of the Tuvaluan Government, Tuvalu ...

From 2020 through 2022, UNESCO Jakarta carried out a project “Towards a sustainable future for the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra UNESCO World Heritage site: integrating management and reviewing boundaries for the long-term protection of the Outstanding Universal Value,” funded by the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust, in close coordination with the Directorate General of Natural ...

13 May 2023 – World Migratory Bird Day highlights the importance of water for migratory birds and calls for more action to protect water resources and aquatic ecosystems. UNESCO World Heritage sites are crucial safe havens for all 12 migratory bird species that are celebrated today. Water is fundamental to life on our planet. Many migratory birds rely on aquatic ecosystems during their life ...

From June until November 2022, Member States were invited to report on the implementation of the 2011 Recommendation at the national and urban levels. Progress in the Member States’ implementation of the 2011 Recommendation since the Second Consultation in 2019 is evident and encouraging, with reports received from 69 Member States reported with 62 national reports and 125 local reports out ...

Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of African World Heritage Day Each year, on 5 May, UNESCO and its partners come together to celebrate African heritage. The richness and diversity of this heritage are embodied in natural sites of breathtaking beauty, which are often home to a unique biodiversity, such as the Ivindo National Park in Gabon, listed as ...

On Tuesday 2 May, the Director of UNESCO World Heritage, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, accompanied by the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Anne Lemaistre, visited the Convent of Santa Clara, the first women’s convent in Havana (founded in 1644), part of the World Heritage property “Old Havana and its Fortification System,” inscribed on the ...

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 3-12 September 2023Looking Ahead: The Next 50 Years of Protecting Natural and Cultural Heritage As an integral part of the extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the National Committee for Education, Culture and ...