The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage.[2] The Democratic Republic of the Congo accepted the convention on 23 September 1974, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.[3]
There are five World Heritage Sites in the country, all of them listed for their natural significance.[3] Virunga National Park was the first site in DRC to be listed, in 1979. Four sites are currently listed as endangered because of threats such as poaching and deforestation. Salonga National Park was listed as endangered between 1999 and 2021. There are also four sites on the tentative list.[3]
- ^ "The World Heritage Convention". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Democratic Republic of the Congo". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.