List of World Heritage Sites in Côte d'Ivoire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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] Côte d'Ivoire accepted the convention on 9 January 1981, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.[3]
There are five World Heritage Sites in Côte d'Ivoire, and a further two on the tentative list.[3] The first site listed was Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve in 1982, as an extension of a site that was listed in Guinea the year prior.[4] The most recent listing were the Sudanese style mosques in northern Côte d’Ivoire, in 2021. Two sites are listed for their cultural and three for their natural significance.[3] Mount Nimba was listed as endangered in 1992 because of planned ore mining in the park area and the arrival of large numbers of refugees on the Guinean side.[5] Comoé National Park was listed as endangered in 2003 because of the impact of civil unrest on the property, including lack of management and drop in large mammal populations due to poaching.[6] As the situation improved, the site was removed from the endangered list in 2017.[7]