The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has called for an urgent global response to protect the world’s cultural and natural heritage from the growing threats of climate change, armed conflicts and other human-induced challenges.
Speaking during the 48th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, Nayef Al-Fayez, urged governments, communities and visitors to work together to safeguard heritage sites before irreversible damage occurs.
Al-Fayez said the continued destruction of cultural and natural heritage places a shared responsibility on the international community to take coordinated preventive action rather than relying on post-disaster restoration.
“Fulfilling this responsibility is not the task of governments alone,” he said during a media briefing at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre.
“It is also the role of those who are living there, working there, and visiting those sites. Collectively, we should work together to make sure that these wonderful places and sites are protected and maintained in the right manner.”
He warned that heritage sites worldwide are increasingly threatened by extreme weather events, natural disasters, deliberate attacks linked to armed conflicts and growing human activities.
According to Al-Fayez, while damaged structures can sometimes be restored, the psychological and cultural impact on affected communities is often impossible to reverse.
He said the World Heritage Committee meeting in Busan comes at a critical time, describing it as an opportunity to shape the international community’s response to these complex global challenges.
“Our expectation is that it must serve as a catalyst for a global awakening. We must inspire a renewed and concrete commitment to protect the heritage that we cherish so deeply,” he added.
Earlier, the committee unanimously adopted the Busan Declaration on World Heritage, which calls for stronger international cooperation to address the increasing threats facing cultural and natural heritage around the world.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre Director, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, described the declaration as a strong message reaffirming the global commitment to heritage conservation.
“We should not stop protecting heritage; on the contrary, we should reinforce it,” Assomo said.
The 48th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially commenced on Monday after its opening ceremony on Sunday.
The meeting marks the first time South Korea has hosted the World Heritage Committee since joining the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1988.
The committee is expected to deliberate on key heritage conservation issues and adopt measures aimed at strengthening global efforts to preserve World Heritage sites for future generations.
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