Story | 29 Jul, 2019
Celebrating the extension of the Ohrid Region World Heritage site in Albania
The oldest and one of the most biodiversity rich lakes in Europe is now recognised as World Heritage in its entirety. The already inscribed part of the Ohrid region, located in North Macedonia, was extended at the 2019 World Heritage Committee meeting held earlier this July in Baku to include…
Story | 15 Jul, 2019
UNESCO’s annual World Heritage Committee meeting concluded on 10 July. After gathering input from the IUCN delegation he headed at the Committee, Peter Shadie, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme, captures some take-home messages from the meeting.
Story | 04 Jul, 2019
Hundreds of assessors and reviewers to take part in the IUCN World Heritage Outlook 3
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is gathering input from experts around the globe to complete a new cycle of assessments for the IUCN World Heritage Outlook 3. This flagship IUCN report on natural World Heritage will be published in 2020, together with assessments for…
Press release | 03 Jul, 2019
The looming extinction of the vaquita puts Gulf of California on World Heritage danger list
The World Heritage Committee today followed IUCN’s advice to list Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California as a World Heritage site in danger. The site’s population of vaquitas – the world’s smallest and most endangered species of porpoise – has been decimated due to the…
Story | 01 Jul, 2019
IUCN report makes new proposals for listing World Heritage volcanoes
Eighteen volcanic landscapes around the globe are the most likely candidates for future inscription on the World Heritage List, according to a new IUCN study launched today at UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meeting in Azerbaijan.
Publication | 2019
Volcanoes are true wonders of the planet; they are central to the formation, evolution and sustenance of biological systems; they form some of our deepest and most significant cultural attachments to the land; and they attract large numbers of visitors for their aesthetic appeal. Although the…
IUCN Statement | 27 Jun, 2019
Selous reserve could lose World Heritage status if dam project goes ahead – IUCN
The Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania faces irreversible damage if plans to build the Stiegler’s Gorge dam go ahead, according to IUCN – the official advisor on natural World Heritage. Ultimately, this could lead to the reserve being removed from the World Heritage List, IUCN warns ahead of next…
Story | 07 Jun, 2019
IUCN advises “in danger” status for three World Heritage sites
IUCN, the official advisor on natural World Heritage, recommends for three natural sites to be listed as “World Heritage in danger”: the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California and the Ohrid region in North Macedonia.
Grey literature | 2019
This rapid technical review assesses the “Updated Environmental Impact Assessment Report for 2100 MW Power Generation from the Rufiji Hydropower Project in Selous Game Reserve, Pwani and Morogoro regions, Tanzania” of 18 October 2018 that relates to a planned hydropower project to be built at…
Story | 20 May, 2019
Huge sub-Antarctic area among five sites recommended by IUCN for World Heritage List
The official advisory body on natural World Heritage, IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature, recommends listing four new World Heritage sites for their outstanding natural value in Brazil, France, Iceland and Iran, and approving the extension in Albania of a site currently listed…