Commemorating 20 years since the destruction of two Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2253
The tragic destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in March 2001, which was broadcast across the globe, led to a global recognition of the need to protect cultural heritage at risk.
The empty niches of the giant Buddhas in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan are a perpetual reminder of our duty to protect cultural heritage, and what future generations stand to lose if we do not. Today, these niches are inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the "Cultural Landscape and ...
UNESCO and German Ministry support tourism recovery from COVID-19
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2262
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has provided UNESCO with 2 million euros to address some of the immediate socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on tourism and heritage. The project aims to support UNESCO's efforts to accelerate the recovery, to protect livelihoods and to transform the sectors to become more inclusive and sustainable.
Working in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the project ...
Happy International Women's Day
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2261
Each year, International Women's Day is the occasion to celebrate the role of women and encourage gender equality in everything that we do. 
Women play a crucial role in managing World Heritage sites. To mention just a few, there are Tania Zaven, site manager of Byblos, Christina Sinclair, site manager of Edinburgh, and Beverly Wade, national focal point for the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, all doing little-known and fantastic work at preserving sites in often difficult ...
World Wildlife Day, 3 March 2021: Forests and Livelihoods
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2256
Today is World Wildlife Day with the theme: "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet," as a way to highlight the central role of forests, forest species and ecosystems services in sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally, and particularly of Indigenous and local communities with historic ties to forest and forest-adjacent areas. This aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 13 and 15, and their wide-ranging ...
UNESCO and World Tourism Organization collaborate on cultural tourism recovery guidelines
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2260
New guidelines developed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in cooperation with UNESCO outline how tourism and culture stakeholders can work together to support the inclusive recovery of cultural tourism, as countries around the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The publication, entitled UNWTO Inclusive Recovery Guide, Issue 2: Cultural Tourism, draws on the insights and expertise of the two UN agencies to analyse the impact of the pandemic on their respective ...
New research demonstrates crucial role of World Heritage marine sites in fighting climate change
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258
Last week, UNESCO released the first global scientific assessment of its World Heritage marine sites' blue carbon ecosystems, highlighting the critical environmental value of these habitats. While these sites represent less than 1% of the world's ocean, they host at least 21% of the world's blue carbon ecosystem area, and 15% of the world's blue carbon assets. 
Over the last decade, scientists have discovered that seagrass meadows, tidal marshes, and mangroves, ...
Operational Guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention available in Portuguese
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2259
The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention set forth the procedures for the protection and conservation of World Heritage properties, the inscription of properties on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, the granting of International Assistance under the World Heritage Fund, and the mobilization of national and international support in favor of the Convention.
They were revised in 2019 by the World Heritage Committee ...
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and Chair on African Heritage at the Great Zimbabwe University join forces to promote capacity building
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2257
Integrating World Heritage in the Curricula of Institutions of Higher Learning in Africa - UNESCO's World Heritage Centre (WHC) and Chair on African Heritage at the Great Zimbabwe University join forces to promote capacity building in Africa.
On 24 February 2021, the Africa Unit of the UNESCO WHC and the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), held an online consultation meeting dedicated to exploring areas of cooperation and the increased role of Universities in conserving and promoting ...
In memoriam: Hugo Houben (founder of CRAterre)
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2255
UNESCO expresses its sorrow and condolences at the death of Hugo Houben.
As an engineer of electronics and nuclear physics, Hugo Houben embarked on another path, more in line with his ethical commitments. At the age of 28, he responded to a request to participate in the construction of a popular village in Algeria. It was then that he discovered that earth can be a good construction material and launched into research to satisfy his immense curiosity, but above all, to understand and ...
African National Focal Points for Periodic Reporting finalize Third Cycle Draft Regional Action Plan
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2254
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and the UNESCO Field Offices in Africa, organized an regional workshop from 17 to 19 February 2021, where National Focal Points from the Africa region participated online.
Following the submission of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting questionnaires in July 2020 and several consultations with World Heritage site managers and African heritage experts of the Africa region and their ...
