UNESCO

Cyprus artists Andreani Panayides and Vasilis Savvidis have collaborated on an exhibition featuring traditional Lefkara lace, an endangered craft on the UNESCO list. The show, titled Stitched into the Landscape, runs from September 11 to November 11 at the Elyssia Boutique Hotel in Pedoulas. The exhibition includes free parallel workshops on the technique of Lefkara lace, allowing visitors to learn the craft from Panayides. Alongside the framed works, a tavli set is displayed with its dice and stones replaced with Lefkara lace, immersing visitors in a village that has been stitched with the craft. Panayides, the founder of the Folkmona fashion brand, trained in Lefkara lace at the Cyprus Handicraft Service and has taught Savvidis to slow down and appreciate the craft. The exhibition is an invitation to slow down and appreciate the beauty of traditional Cypriot life.

Paris will host the 25th Lavagem de Madeleine, a large Afro‑Brazilian celebration, from September 10‑13. Organised by Roberto Chaves, the event is expected to draw about 60,000 participants, including Brazilians, French, and international tourists. The washing of the church steps, inspired by the Lavagem do Bonfim in Salvador, has grown each year since 1998. The ceremony is part of France’s official calendar, supported by the city government, Bahia’s tourism department, and Embratur, and is listed on UNESCO’s Routes of Enslaved Peoples. This year’s program opens with a photo exhibition at the Brazilian Embassy, followed by Afro‑Brazilian dance workshops. On September 13, more than 700 artists will parade through Paris, culminating in a symbolic washing at La Madeleine led by baianas, with performances by Mariene de Castro, Robertinho Chaves, and opera singer Lorena Pires.

A camera trap in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, captured the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding‑heart pigeon (Gallicolumba platenae) in August, the first confirmed photograph of the species in 20 years. The image was released by the Center for Conservation Innovation Ph Inc. (CCIPH) and verified by ornithologist Juan Carlos Gonzalez and BirdLife International specialist Alex Berryman. The sighting confirms that the species still persists in the steep rainforests of Puerto Galera, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The photo underscores the area's role as a vital sanctuary for the bird and highlights the ongoing threat of forest loss to its survival.

On Mindoro Island, the Iraya Mangyan community is racing to record its fading ecological knowledge before it disappears with aging elders and ongoing deforestation. The community’s 40,000‑hectare ancestral domain overlaps the UNESCO‑designated Puerto Galera Biosphere Reserve, a key protected area. The Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines (CCIPH) is working with the Iraya to document wildlife, medicinal plants and culturally important places under the Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Programme. Information gathered feeds into the Iraya’s Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan. Among the data collected are the roles of three endemic birds— the turis (Mindoro racket‑tail), the siruk (Mindoro boobook) and the sulit (Mindoro scops owl)—which are culturally significant and listed as vulnerable or near threatened by the IUCN.

A new high‑resolution digital map, released in Scientific Data, lists 386 UNESCO World Heritage Sites along coastlines worldwide, covering more than 235 million hectares. The database, created by climate‑adaptation professor Robert Nicholls and colleagues, identifies cultural landmarks, biocultural sites, and unique ecosystems vulnerable to climate change, erosion, and other weather extremes. The tool is intended for local authorities to assess site vulnerabilities and design resilience measures. By pinpointing which coastal heritage locations face the greatest threats, the dataset offers a concrete basis for prioritizing protection efforts and allocating resources to safeguard these natural and cultural treasures.

The Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China has grown from 4,300 hectares to 54,700 hectares, creating the Tianmushan‑Qingliangfeng UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2025. The expansion, the first of its kind in China, formalizes state regulations that now govern the area while preserving the long‑standing religious stewardship of Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian temples that historically protected the forest. The reserve is a biodiversity hotspot, home to the ancient, endangered Ginkgo biloba, Chinese pangolin, black muntjac, Chinese golden larch and Tianmu ironwood. Local officials say the blend of spiritual reverence and legal protection keeps the mountain alive and sets a new standard for conservation in the country.

In Puerto Galera, northern Mindoro, 56‑year‑old Iraya Mangyan patroller Bernito Pampilo and his team navigate rivers, steep ridges and hidden holes to guard the 14,661‑hectare UNESCO‑designated Biosphere Reserve. Their work is part of the Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme (MFBCP), a REDD+ initiative led by the Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines Inc. (CCIPH). From 2020 to 2049, MFBCP seeks to conserve more than 40,000 hectares of ancestral forest while supporting roughly 2,500 Iraya households. The programme blends ancestral‑domain recognition, carbon monitoring, Indigenous patrols and livelihood projects. While mobile apps guide patrols to assigned coordinates, they do not always indicate the safest routes, underscoring the challenges of field enforcement in remote terrain.