The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, today condemed the deadly attack perpetrated on 9 April against the staff of the Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, during which six guards and their driver lost their lives.
“I condemn this deadly attack on six guards of the Virunga National Park and their driver. I call on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take all the ...

The conservation of wetlands does not only contribute to the safeguarding of biodiversity, it can also support the safeguarding of their cultural and spiritual values. The workshop “The Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Wetlands Supporting the integration of nature and culture in their governance and management” organised by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) in ...

The International Meeting of experts on the Conservation and Revitalization of the Kasbah of Algiers, a World Heritage Site, organized by the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO jointly with the Algerian Ministry of Culture, took place from 20 to 23 January 2018 in Algiers, Algeria. It gathered 200 participants, including key actors of the conservation of the Kasbah of Algiers, international ...

From the 13th to the 15th of March 2018, the World Heritage Policy Compendium Working Group met for the second time at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The meeting was organised in follow-up to the first meeting of the group (December 2017, Paris) and on completion of the Policy Compendium Online Consultation, which was carried out in February and March 2018.
The Policy Compendium initiative, ...

In February and March 2018, the World Heritage Centre carried out an online consultation with key World Heritage stakeholders on the first draft of the World Heritage Policy Compendium. The consultation gathered feedback and comments from key World Heritage stakeholders including States Parties to the World Heritage Convention. For the first time, the online consultation included also UNESCO ...

‘Mainstreaming youth perspective and involvement in conservation and sustainable development of African World Heritage’
The 3rd African World Heritage Regional Youth Forum 2018 under the theme of ‘Mainstreaming youth perspective and involvement in conservation and sustainable development of African World Heritage’ will take place from 30 April to 3 May 2018 in the World Heritage site of the ...

Water is essential to life; no living organism can survive without it. We need water for human survival, and water is critical for sustaining healthy ecosystems, which provide a wide range of benefits to people.
World Heritage sites include a large variety of landscapes, from wet tropical rainforests to arid deserts. Mountains inscribed on the World Heritage List provide water to thousands ...

The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with the generous support of the Kingdom of Bahrain, can now be ordered from the World Heritage Centre website.
The featured image on the map presents the Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy World Heritage property in Bahrain, country hosting the next session of the ...

The World Heritage Centre has taken due note of concerns expressed by numerous citizens and NGOs regarding the recent agreement signed between Seychelles and India to establish a naval base on Assumption Island, located some 27 km from Aldabra Atoll World Heritage property (Seychelles). UNESCO appreciates the commitment of these stakeholders to the safeguarding of this World Heritage ...

Forest ecosystems are home to the vast majority of the world’s terrestrial species, but they are also under the greatest pressure from human activities. Ranging in size from the Vallée de Mai, Seychelles (18 hectares), to Lake Baikal, Russian Federation (8.8 million hectares), World Heritage forest sites have a total surface area of over 75 million hectares, or 1.5 times the surface area of ...

Women's Day is an occasion to celebrate the power of women, and the often overlooked role they play in society.
World Heritage preservation is no different from any other sector - women play a crucial role in conservation, and their influence is increasing. Women are the caretakers of the sacred site the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (Uganda). Female rangers protect Virunga National Park ...

This new UNESCO publication examines World Heritage and sustainable development in Africa. It addresses not only the challenges of safeguarding World Heritage in the Africa region but also the process of integrating the objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into African regional and national policies as well as the African Union’s ‘Agenda 2063: the Africa We ...

A Capacity-Building Seminar was held in Vilnius, Lithuania from 18 to 20 October, 2017, for Managers of Eastern European sites.
The practical Capacity-building Seminar took place over two days, during which were presented three thematic lectures given by international experts from World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS, ICCROM, accompanied by three leading practical workshops and individual case ...

Natural World Heritage sites are home to a great many species, which makes taking care of these sites even more important. This year for World Wildlife Day, we celebrate the 'big cats', predators who play a primordial role in the ecosystems in which they live, and many of whom are under threat.
Of the 36 wild species of cat that exist in the world, 35 occur in at least one World Heritage ...

World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2018 ‘Protecting Heritage in an Ever-Changing World’
As an integral part of the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee, and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities will host the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2018 under the theme of ‘Protecting Heritage in an ...

The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and UNESCO signed a new agreement this week to supplement the financing of UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) with US$2 million.
“More than ever, we need to respond quickly and efficiently to assess, secure and safeguard threatened heritage, said UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay “The Heritage Emergency Fund is a key tool for doing this and I ...

In January 2018, a joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission took place at the World Heritage property “Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia” (Federated States of Micronesia).
The mission was requested by the World Heritage Committee to ‘agree on a Desired State of Conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger ...

Over the last six months, the World Heritage Centre (WHC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have received numerous reports expressing concern about the decision of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to move forward with the construction of a hydropower dam at Stiegler's Gorge, located within the Selous Game Reserve World Heritage property.
The ...

Cyclone Gita, which accelerated into a category five storm, struck the Pacific country of Tonga, battering the Parliament House and other buildings, and parts of southern Fiji. Mechtild Rössler, Director of the World Heritage Centre, would like to express her condolences to the families who have endured losses during the storm.
Two sites, Lapita Pottery Archaeological Sites and The Ancient ...