{"id":57640,"date":"2025-08-09T20:11:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T20:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/57640\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T20:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T20:11:13","slug":"sierra-leones-wildlife-paradise-among-26-new-unesco-world-heritage-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/57640\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Leone\u2019s wildlife paradise among 26 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa and its heritage have been the focus of UNESCO\u2019s efforts in recent years, and this year, four new sites – in Malawi, Cameroon, Siera Leone and Guinea Bassau \u2013 were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two of these countries \u2013 Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone \u2013 had presented their sites for nominations for the first time. It is expected that seven more African countries will present their first sites for nomination across 2026 and 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

26 new sites were added in total during this year\u2019s meeting, plus the extension of two existing sites to create transboundary national parks, and the removal of three sites from the List of World Heritage in Danger \u2013 listed sites that are facing serious threats –\u00a0in Madagascar, Egypt and Libya.<\/p>\n

\"Gola\"The Gola-Tiwai Complex is Sierra Leone’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Credit: RSPB
\nGola-Tiwai Complex – Sierra Leone’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/p>\n

One of the shining stars awarded this status is the Gola-Tiwai Complex, part of the Great Gola Landscape and containing the Gola Rainforest National Park and the Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary, in Sierra Leone. <\/p>\n

Gola is a biodiversity hotspot, home to more than 1,000 plant species, 55 mammals (including pangolins<\/a>, chimpanzees<\/a>, forest elephants<\/a> and pygmy hippos<\/a>), and supports almost 450 birds \u2013 including migratory swifts on their journey to and from Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This recognition is not just a global acknowledgment of Gola\u2019s extraordinary ecological value but also a powerful affirmation of the generations of stewardship by local communities,\u201d says Fomba Kanneh, from Gola Rainforest Conservation. \u201cI feel honoured and humbled to be part of this historic moment.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n

\"Picathartes\"The picathartes (white-necked rockfowl) is one of hundreds of bird species found in the Gola-Tiwai Complex. Credit: Ryan Wilkie, RSPB<\/p>\n

The RSPB was one of the partners involved in setting up a conservation project in Gola Rainforest National Park in 2013, which funds the park \u2013 including ranger patrols, training local farms, and delivering vital community infrastructure \u2013 through the purchase of carbon credits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fantastic news is a testament to what can be achieved for conservation at a landscape scale by working closely with local communities, together with government, as well as national and international partners,\u201d says Katie-jo Luxton, Director of Conservation at the RSPB.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The addition of new sites brings the total of UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Sites to 1,248 in 170 countries.<\/p>\n

Camera trap images from the Gola-Tiwai Complex
\n\"PygmyPygmy hippo. Credit: RSPB
\n\"Chimpanzees\"Chimpanzees. Credit: RSPB
\n\"ForestForest elephants. Credit: RSPB<\/p>\n

Top image: pygmy kingfisher. Credit: Ryan Wilkie, RSPB<\/p>\n

More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Africa and its heritage have been the focus of UNESCO\u2019s efforts in recent years, and this year, four…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-57640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}