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Irreplaceable cultural and natural sites belong to everyone — so the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization is making sure they’re protected.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added 26 new sites to its World Heritage list, bringing the total number of heritage sites to 1,223 in 168 countries. Since 1972, UNESCO has designated heritage sites as places for protection and preservation.
“What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application,” UNESCO states on their website. “World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.”
UNESCO’s 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage created an international treaty outlining the conditions for defining, protecting and funding designated sites.
UNESCO designates sites based on their cultural and natural heritage, which the organization views as “both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.” These sites are selected based on their unique attributes such as sculpture and art, archaeological features, geological formations, and endangered or threatened species.
Four of the new locations are natural sites: Badain Jaran Desert — Towers of Sand and Lakes in China, Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil, The Flow Country in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Vjetrenica Cave, Ravno in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The rest fall under the cultural heritage designation, and include Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites in South Africa representing human rights, liberation, and reconciliation, the frontiers of the Roman Empire in Romania, and the Via Appia in Italy.
For more information, read the full text from UNESCO’s 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage here.
