Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Featured in National Geographic magazine

Cahokia Mound State Historic Site, one of the U.S.'s 21 World Heritage sites, is featured in the January edition of the National Geographic Magazine. The article is also available on-line here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/cahokia/hodges-text

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

NPS seeks public comments on possible new World Heritage nominations

For more information, click here.

As Global Heritage Sites Vanish...

Ayutthaya in Thailand. Mirador in Guatemala. Most people outside of these countries have not heard of either, and future generations will never know of or experience these historical treasures if we do not work to save them.

Both are "global heritage" sites, meaning they are of great cultural value to their own countries and to civilization collectively. That value is more than just a link to the past -- heritage sites offer an overlooked key to revitalizing poorer nations. But explosive growth in tourism and unchecked development in developing countries is putting heritage sites under such severe stress that experts fear widespread, irreplaceable losses in the next 10-20 years. We learned this in the creation of a new report, Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, which reviewed over 500 heritage sites. We found that simultaneous and accelerating man-made threats are putting many fragile sites in imminent danger. National treasures are being lost and damaged by illegal encroachment, construction, poor management, unsustainable tourism, looting and conflict.

To read more, click here.

Gary Arndt's Blog about the World Heritage Sites he has visited

To read Gary's Blog, click here.

13 U.S. Properties in Contention for World Heritage Listing

To view pictures of possible U.S. World Heritage Sites, click here.

Marine World Heritage Managers' First Gathering Celebrates Hawaiian Islands

HONOLULU, Hawaii, December 6, 2010 (ENS) - Managers of the 43 marine sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List met for the first time last week in Honolulu to explore ways of conserving these unique areas jeopardized by industrialization, acidification and overfishing.

Schools of pennantfish, pyramid and milletseed butterflyfish on a healthy coral reef in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument "World Heritage - the very words evoke the global mission to protect the most exceptional and iconic places in the world," said Francesco Bandarin of Italy, UNESCO's assistant director general of culture.

"Out of nearly 6,000 marine protected areas now designated worldwide, only 43 have the highest internationally recognized status for conservation, UNESCO World Heritage Listing," he said.

Marine World Heritage was first recognized by UNESCO in 1981 with the inscription of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park on the World Heritage List.

To read the whole article and look at the photos, click HERE.