Each year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) evaluates its list of World Heritage Sites and adds new ones to the list of places around the world that have been determined to be of “cultural, historical or scientific significance.”
The classification dates back to the 1950s, when, in order to prevent the construction of a dam that would span stretches of the Nile containing artifacts dating back to ancient Egypt, the governments of Egypt and Sudan asked the United Nations to protect the cultural sites.
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In early August, UNESCO granted 25 new World Heritage sites around the world the status of World Heritage Sites, bringing the total to 1,223 in 168 of the world's 195 countries. The new World Heritage sites range from the prehistoric sites of Melka Kunture and Balchit in Ethiopia to the Flow Country in northern Scotland and the Badain Jaran Desert in China.
'They thus benefit from the highest level of heritage protection in the world'
“The inscriptions include 20 cultural properties, 5 natural properties and 1 mixed site,” UNESCO writes of the results. “These properties thus benefit from the highest level of heritage protection in the world. Their managers will now have access to new opportunities for technical and financial assistance from UNESCO.”
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While the United States has dozens of World Heritage sites, including Yosemite, Mesa Verde and the Statue of Liberty, it did not see any new places added to the list in 2024. The main focus is on sites that are at risk of loss and deterioration, including parts of Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and several Arab states.
Colombia, Mauritius, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Tanzania were awarded a combined $235,520 to “finance new conservation work on properties in their territories.”
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These are some of the other places that will get the new World Heritage status
Other sites set to receive new World Heritage status in 2024 include Saint Hilarion Monastery/Tell Umm Amer in the Gaza Strip, the Niah National Park Cave Complex in Malaysia and Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil.
According to UNESCO, special attention must be paid to the conservation of properties located in active war zones, such as Gaza and the West Bank, as well as “properties already inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in particular in Ukraine.”
In 2023, existing Ukrainian World Heritage sites, such as Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the historic centre of Lviv, were added to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Another surprising addition to the list was Lake Kenozero in the Arkhangelsk region in the north of the country. Some of the wooden churches surrounding the lake that flows from the Onega basin date back to when the indigenous Finno-Ugric region was settled by Slavs in the 12th century. The lake is 945 kilometres from Moscow and a 12-hour and 30-minute flight away.
“The wooden churches and other religious buildings, originally decorated with painted ceilings, or 'ceilings', are the key social, cultural and visual landmarks of the area,” UNESCO writes of the newly granted status. “Their spatial organisation, together with sacred sites and symbols, highlight the spiritual connection of the residents with this environment.”
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