The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) held a one day workshop at its antenna office in Juba on 23 November 2017 to assist the South Sudan Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism with the preparation of a conservation and management plan for Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape, one of three nominated sites on South Sudan’s World Heritage Tentative List (inventory of potential World Heritage sites).

The workshop was led by natural heritage expert Mr. Koen Meyers, who has worked extensively on natural heritage site management and nominations for both UNESCO and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and was supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Participants included park management and local communities from both Boma and Badingilo National Parks.

Ms. Ellen Lekka, a consultant at the UNESCO Office in Juba, addressing a press conference on Thursday, said South Sudan has many natural and cultural heritage sites that can be considered globally as having potential World Heritage values; however, three of these sites have been identified by the government for the national Tentative List: the Sudd Wetland (a mixed heritage site combining both cultural and natural aspects in Jonglei State, about 1.8 million km square in Boma state), Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape (a natural heritage site), and Deim Zubeir - Slave Route Site (a cultural heritage site in former Western Bahr el Ghazal state).

Lekka said UNESCO will continue working closely with South Sudan’s government to implement the 1972 World Heritage Convention in South Sudan, which was ratified by the government in early 2016.

For his part, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Wildlife and Tourism, Mr. Charles Yosam, expressed concerns about the sustainable conservation of South Sudan’s natural heritage sites, and welcomed UNESCO’s support in the conservation and management of the sites.

NOTICE OF CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that UNESCO has nominated three historic sites in South Sudan for documentation among the World Heritage sites. This is incorrect. The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) assisted South Sudan with management of potential World Heritage site.