UNESCO adds six sites to World Heritage Danger List, postpones Calakmul assessment

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in Busan, South Korea, and placed six sites on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, invoking an emergency procedure. The three sites added simultaneously to both lists are the Boma‑Badingilo Migration Landscape in South Sudan, the Castles of Mount Amel in Lebanon, and Sebastia in the State of Palestine. A further three sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List – the Old City of Tauric in Ukraine, the Historic Centre of Paramaribo in Suriname, and Tiro in Lebanon – were newly listed as in danger. The committee cited threats such as armed conflict, urban development, illegal wildlife trade and other pressures.

In the same session, the Committee postponed the evaluation of Mexico’s Calakmul World Heritage site regarding the impact of the Maya Train’s Tramo 7 until its next meeting in 2027. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) blamed UNESCO for the delay, noting that Mexico had submitted multiple conservation reports but that a comprehensive strategic environmental assessment required by UNESCO had not been provided.