Tag: World Heritage List

UNESCO finds that some iconic World Heritage glaciers will disappear by 2050

Stuart Mitchell

50 UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers (A total of 18,600 glaciers have been identified in these 50 sites, covering around 66,000 km2), representing almost 10% of the Earth’s total glacierized area. They include the highest (next to Mt. Everest), the longest (in Alaska), and the last remaining glaciers in Africa, amongst others, giving a representative overview of the general situation of glaciers in the world. But a new study by UNESCO, in partnership with IUCN, shows these glaciers have been retreating at an accelerated rate since 2000 due…

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UNESCO adds Arabic calligraphy to world heritage list

Stuart Mitchell

UNESCO added Arabic calligraphy, a key tradition in the Arab and Islamic worlds, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list, on 14 December. A total of 16 countries, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, presented the nomination to UNESCO. “Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting Arabic script in a fluid manner to convey harmony, grace and beauty,” UNESCO said. “The fluidity of Arabic script offers infinite possibilities, even within a single word, as letters can…

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Jodrell Bank added to UNESCO World Heritage List

Stuart Mitchell

Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The observatory becomes the 32nd UNESCO World Heritage Site in the UK and joins the prestigious list alongside international sites such as Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal. Jodrell Bank, owned by the University of Manchester, is famous as the home of the Lovell Telescope, the world’s third largest steerable radio telescope. Completed in 1957, the dish was the largest of its kind anywhere in the world until 1973 and was…

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