26 New Heritage Sites added to UNESCO World Heritage List

The UNESCO Committee added 26 new heritage sites to UNESCO's World Heritage List during the session on 6 June 2012. The committee took two weeks of work, under the chair of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Ambassador of Russia to UNESCO. Now the number of countries with sites on the List grew to 157, with the inscription of sites in Chad, Congo, Palau and Palestine. The new properties include 5 natural heritage sites, 1 mixed heritage site and 20 cultural heritage sites. (Mixed heritage contains natural and cultural attribute at one place.)

Sites listed under danger

New Heritage Sites
The World Heritage Committee added five sites to the Danger List because of concern for their conservation: Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia (Mali), Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine), Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo (Panama); and Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (UK).

Slideshow for this Heritage Sites


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List of newly added sites on 6th June 2012

Natural Sites
Lakes of Ounianga (Chad)
Sangha Trinational (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo,)
Chengjiang Fossil Site (China)
Western Ghats (India)
Lena Pillars Nature Park (Russian Federation)

Mixed Site
Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (Palau)

Natural Sites
Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy (Bahrain)
Major Mining Sites of Wallonia (Belgium)
Rio de Janeiro, Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea (Brazil)
The Landscape of Grand-Pre (Canada)
Site of Xanadu (China)
Historic Town Grand-Bassam (Cote d'Ivoire)
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin (France)
Margravial Opera House Bayreuth (Germany)
Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy (Indonesia)
Masjed-e Jame of Isfahan (Islamic Republic of Iran),
Gonbad-e Qābus (Islamic Republic of Iran)
Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Mearot/Wadi el-Mughara Caves (Israel)
Archaelogical Heritage of the Lenggong Valley (Malaysia)
Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage (Morocco)
Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine)
Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications (Portugal)
Bassari Country: Bassari, Fula and Bedik Cultural Landscapes (Senegal)
Heritage of Mercury Almaden and Idrija (Slovenia/Spain)
Decorated Farmhouses of Halsingland (Sweden)
Neolithic Site of Çatalhoyuk (Turkey)

Browse All UNESCO World Heritage Sites in .

Next Season Committee Meeting

The 21 members of the Committee were particularly concerned for the fate of Timbuktu. During the session, armed groups stepped up their attacks on the World Heritage site and destroyed sacred tombs. The Committee adopted a decision condemning the destruction and outlining measures to be taken for Timbuktu when conservation becomes possible.

The next session of the Committee will take place in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) from 17 to 27 of June 2013 under the chair of Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

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