Expert IUCN World Heritage Panel meets in Dakar, Senegal to evaluate new nominations to the prestigious World Heritage List

IUCN is the official advisor on natural heritage under the World Heritage Convention and as part of this role is responsible for evaluating all new World Heritage nominations where nature conservation values are proposed for recognition.

Nominations to the World Heritage List in 2024/2025:

• Brazil, Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park
• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mt. Kumgang – Diamond Mountain from the Sea
• Denmark, Møns Klint
• Guinea-Bissau, Écosystèmes côtiers et marins de l’archipel des Bijagós – Omatí Minhô
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Hin Nam No National Park – a proposed transboundary extension to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park World Heritage site
• Mongolia, Eastern Mongolian Steppes
• Mozambique, Maputo National Park – a proposed transboundary extension to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage site
• Sierra Leone, Gola-Tiwai Complex

The IUCN World Heritage Panel is the decision-making body of experts that are responsible for producing IUCN’s official recommendations on the new nominations. The Panel can recommend either inscription of a nominated site to the World Heritage List, referral back to the State Party (usually for smaller issues that can be fixed within a short period of time), deferral of the decision (where larger issues need to be solved before potential inscription) or non-inscription of a nominated site (where it is clear the nominated property does not have potential to meet World Heritage criteria).

The Panel is composed of senior protected area, biodiversity, geology and World Heritage specialists, ensuring regional representation. It considers inputs from a wide variety of sources, including expert desk reviews, information submitted from the State Party in the form of nomination dossiers, and field evaluation reports.

This year’s meeting also marked the first time the IUCN World Heritage Panel has taken place in Africa. The Panel was warmly hosted at IUCN’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa in Dakar, Senegal and took the opportunity to strengthen collaborations with the IUCN regional programme and office.

“We were pleased to welcome the IUCN World Heritage Panel to Dakar for their annual meeting. With more than 50% of the natural World Heritage sites on the danger list within our region, the meeting provided a unique opportunity to engage staff in the globally important work that IUCN does in relation to World Heritage, as well as identify opportunities to integrate regional and local expertise into World Heritage processes” said Nana Oumou Toure-Sy, IUCN Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

Following the Panel’s meeting, IUCN will request further information on the nominated sites and will meet again online in March 2025 to finalise its recommendations. IUCN’s final recommendations will then be released publicly via the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (the secretariat for the World Heritage Convention) around six weeks before the World Heritage Committee (this year due to meet in Sofia, Bulgaria in July 2025).

About IUCN and the World Heritage Convention

Since the inception of the World Heritage Convention in 1972, IUCN has played a unique role as the official advisory body under the World Heritage Convention on natural World Heritage. This involves leading the technical recommendation of all new nominations of natural and mixed World Heritage sites, monitoring the status of existing natural and mixed World Heritage sites and the newly added Preliminary Assessment process to provide direct advice on the feasibility of potential nominations to states parties.

IUCN also works independently on the Convention to support World Heritage sites globally though our extensive network of programs and policies led though our central Secretariat team, our expert commissions, and our member organisations.

Find out more about IUCN's work on World Heritage here, and specifically on nominations here.