The Extended 44th Session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) was held in Fuzhou, China from July 16-31, 2021. It was organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in cooperation with China.
- The 44th session was chaired by Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education and Chairperson of the National Commission of China for UNESCO.
- During the session, 34 properties (29 Cultural & 5 Natural sites) were inscribed on the UNESCO Heritage List. 3 properties were extended.
- The current session’s inscriptions bring the total number of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage to 1154.
- The 45th session of the WHC has been scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia from June 19-30, 2022, under the Chair of Alexander Kuznetsov.
Indian Sites
i.From India, 2 sites were added to the World Heritage List. They are
- Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana (Cultural Site) – India’s 39th World Heritage Site.
- Dholavira: a Harappan City, Gujarat (Cultural Site) – 40th World Heritage Site.
ii.With the addition of 2 sites, India now has 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (32 Cultural, 7 Natural & 1 Mixed Property).
- With this, India now enters the Super-40 club for World Heritage Site inscriptions. Apart from India, Italy, Spain, Germany, China and France have 40 or more World Heritage Sites.
- Maharashtra has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites (5).
Dholavira: a Harappan City
Dholavira (locally known as Kotada timba), which was the Southern Centre of the Harappan Civilization, was added to the list.
i.It is located on Khadir bet island in the Kachchh Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the Great Rann of Kachchh.
- It is one of the best preserved urban settlements from the period 3000-1500 BCE in Southeast Asia, consisting of a Fortified city and a cemetery.
- The site was discovered in 1967-68 by J.P. Joshi, of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It is the 5th largest of 8 major Harappan sites.
- It is the 4th UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gujarat. The other 3 are Historic City of Ahmedabad; Rani ki Vav, Patan; Champaner & Pavagadh Archaeological Park.
Newly Inscribed Cultural Inscriptions, 2020 Nominations
| S.No | Site Name | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Great Spa Towns of Europe | Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom |
| 2 | Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Danube Limes (Western Segment) | Austria, Germany, Slovakia |
| 3 | Colonies of Benevolence | Belgium, Netherlands |
| 4 | Sítio Roberto Burle Marx | Brazil |
| 5 | Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China | China |
| 6 | Cordouan Lighthouse | France |
| 7 | Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt | Germany |
| 8 | Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple | Telangana, India |
| 9 | Trans-Iranian Railway | Iran |
| 10 | Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles | Italy |
| 11 | Dutch Water Defence Lines, inscribed as an extension to the World Heritage site of Defence Line of Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| 12 | Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex | Peru |
| 13 | Roșia Montană Mining Landscape | Romania |
| 14 | Himā Cultural Area | Saudi Arabia |
| 15 | Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences | Spain |
| 16 | Arslantepe Mound | Turkey |
| 17 | The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida | Uruguay |
Newly inscribed natural sites, 2020 nominations
| S.No | Site Name | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands | Georgia |
| 2 | Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island | Japan |
| 3 | Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats | South Korea |
| 4 | Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex | Thailand |
Newly inscribed cultural sites, 2021 nominations
| S.No | Site Name | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Settlement and Artificial Mummification of the Chinchorro Culture in the Arica and Parinacota Region | Chile |
| 2 | Sudanese style mosques in northern Côte d’Ivoire | Ivory Coast |
| 3 | Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera | France |
| 4 | ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz | Germany |
| 5 | Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Lower German Limes | Germany, Netherlands |
| 6 | Dholavira: a Harappan City | Gujarat, India |
| 7 | Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat | Iran |
| 8 | The Porticoes of Bologna | Italy |
| 9 | Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan | Japan |
| 10 | As-Salt – The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality | Jordan |
| 11 | The Franciscan Ensemble of the Monastery and Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Tlaxcala , inscribed as an extension of the World Heritage property of Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl | Mexico |
| 12 | Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea | Russia |
| 13 | The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human Centred Urban Design | Slovenia |
| 14 | The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales | UK &Northern Ireland) |
Inscribed natural property and extension, 2021 nominations:
| S.No | Site Name | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivindo National Park | Gabon |
| 2 | Extension to Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe | Bosnia Herzegovina, Czechia, France, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland |
Key Highlights
i.Salonga National Park (Congo) was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
ii.Rosia Montana Mining Landscape (Romania) was simultaneously added on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
iii.The World Heritage Committee delisted Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City (UK) from the World Heritage List, due to irreversible loss of the attributes for which it was inscribed.
Recent Related News:
December 8, 2020, UNESCO has inscribed the fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in its world heritage cities under urban landscape city programme
About World Heritage Committee (WHC)
Chairperson – Tian Xuejun
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Director-General – Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters – Paris, France
