As the UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in Qatar last month (June 2014) and added more sites to the World Heritage List, several natural sites were also inscribed on the World Heritage List. These sites even though located in different parts of the world, (they) are humanity’ Universal Natural Heritage. Here at WCHV’s website, we have tried to bring you the news about any destruction, contaminations, and/or changes brought about climate change, or by negligence to these beautiful and grand sites.

Last month, we also created our first brief video which we hope will be first of many videos about preservation and conservation of world heritage. This first video – http://worldculturalheritagevoices.org/new-video-behind-beaty/ – focuses on how our beautiful universal natural heritage has been affected and changed.

This year’s additions to natural sites on the World Heritage List include the Great Himalayan National Park located in India, Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Philippines, and Okavango Delta, in Botswana among many others. According to UNESCO’s site, the delta in northwest Botswana comprises permanent marshlands which are seasonally flooded. It is one of the very few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is almost intact. One of the unique characteristics of the site is that the annual flooding from the river Okavango occurs during the dry season, with the result that the native plants and animals have synchronized their biological cycles with these seasonal rains and floods.

For a complete list of all the sites added to the World Heritage List, visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/