In the Swabian Jura region in southern Germany, there are six caves in which the oldest figurative artworks made by humans were discovered. This year they could be given UNESCO World Heritage status.The World Heritage Committee will assess the nomination of 34 sites for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its 41st session in the Ploish city of Krakow from 2 to 12 July.
This year’s nominations for inscription on the World Heritage list number seven natural sites, one mixed (i.e. both natural and cultural) and 27 cultural sites.
The Commitee will also review the state of conservation of 99 World Heritage sites and of 55 sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger during the session, which will be webcast.
Five World Heritage sites will be examined with a view to place them on the World Heritage List in Danger:
Historic Centre of Vienna , Austria
Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks, Brazil
Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California, Mexico
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan
The state of conservation of Côte d’Ivoire’s Comoe National Park will be examined with a view to removing it from the List in Danger.
Sites nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List this year:
Natural sites:
Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe [extension to “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Ancient Beech Forests of Germany,” Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine], Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine
Los Alerces National Park, Argentina
W – Arly – Pendjari Complex [extension to “W National Park of Niger,” Niger], Benin, Burkina Faso
Qinghai Hoh Xil, China
Mole National Park, Ghana
Bhitarkanika Conservation Area, Inde
Landscapes of Dauria, Mongolia, Russian Federation
Cultural sites:
Historical Centre of Mbanza Kongo, Angola
Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace, Azerbaijan
Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site, Brazil
Sambor Prei Kuk Archaeological Site Representing the Cultural Landscape of Ancient Ishanapura, Cambodia
Kulangsu: a historic international settlement, Chine
Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th Centuries, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro
Kujataa – a subarctic farming landscape in Greenland, Denmark
Asmara: Africa’s Modernist City, Eritrea
Taputapuātea (France)
Strasbourg: from Grande-île to Neustadt, a European urban scene [extension to “Strasbourg -Grande île”], France
Gelati Monastery [significant boundary reduction of “Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery”, Georgia
Caves with the oldest Ice Age art, Germany
The Bauhaus and its sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau [extension to “Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau”], Germany
Naumburg Cathedral and the High Medieval Cultural Landscape of the Rivers Saale and Unstrut, Germany
Historic City of Ahmadabad, India
Historic City of Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran
Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region, Japan
As-Salt Eclectic Architecture (1865-1925), Origins and Evolution of an Architectural Language in the Levant, Jordan
Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town, Palestine
Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and its Underground Water Management System, Poland
The Assumption Cathedral of the town island of Sviyazhsk, Russian Federation
Khomani Cultural Landscape, South Africa
Talayotic Minorca, Spain
Aphrodisias, Turkey
Khor Dubai, a Traditional Merchants’ Harbour, United Arab Emirates
The English Lake District, United Kingdom
Mixed sites:
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley: originary habitat of Mesoamerica, Mexico
A Forum of young heritage professionals dedicated to the theme of “Memory: Lost and Recovered Heritage”, will be held in Warsaw and Krakow. It will open ahead of the Committee meeting on 25 June and close on 4 July bringing together representatives from 32 countries, including the 21 that are on the World Heritage Committee. Participants will exchange views on the challenges of heritage conservation.
Source: whc.unesco.org
