INAH and UNESCO support sustainable development by renewing the management of World Heritage sites in Mexico

To revitalize the safeguarding of the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties and sites in Mexico, and connect their potential to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of their territories and populations, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and UNESCO held the Workshop for Updating Management, Conservation, and Sustainability Plans for Mexican Archaeological World Heritage Sites on 18-19 November.

Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List possess Outstanding Universal Value: exceptional and irreplaceable qualities that are of importance to all humanity. For this reason, they require precise and adequate management to conserve this value and contribute to sustainable development. UNESCO is therefore implementing a regional capacity-building and updating program in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mexico has 36 inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage List across various categories, including archaeological zones, mixed sites, and cultural landscapes, representing approximately one-third of all properties listed in Latin America and the Caribbean. For this reason, the initiative implemented in the country is essential.

The workshop, held in the cities of Oaxaca and Tlacolula de Matamoros, brought together the general directors of the nine archaeological World Heritage zones: Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla, Monte Albán, Palenque, Paquimé, Tajín, Teotihuacan, Uxmal, the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, and Xochicalco.

INAH's Directorate of Site Operations and the national coordination of Archaeology and of INAH Centres also participated, as well as the Directorate of World Heritage, which is responsible for implementing in Mexico the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage -known as the "1972 Convention" for the year in which it was adopted and from which the World Heritage List derives.