List of World Heritage Sites in Burkina Faso

W-Arly-Pendjari Complex

Ruins of Loropéni

Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites

Royal Court of Tiébélé

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Location of World Heritage Sites in Burkina Faso

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to 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] Burkina Faso ratified the convention on 2 April 1987.^[3]

Burkina Faso has four sites on the list. The first property listed in Burkina Faso was the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, in 1996.^[4] Three of the four sites, the Ruins of Loropéni, Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso, and the Royal Court of Tiébélé are of the cultural type. The W-Arly-Pendjari Complex is of the natural type. There are additional four sites on the tentative list. The W-Arly-Pendjari Complex is a transnational site, being shared with Benin and Niger. Burkina Faso has served on the World Heritage Committee once.^[3]

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.^[5]

World Heritage Sites

Site	Image	Location (region)	Year listed	UNESCO data	Description
W-Arly-Pendjari Complex*		Est Region	749; ix, x (natural)	1996	This transnational extension (Benin, Burkina Faso) to the W National Park of Niger, inscribed in 1996 on the World Heritage List, cover a major expanse of intact Sudano-Sahelian savannah, with vegetation types including grasslands, shrub lands, wooded savannah and extensive gallery forests. It includes the largest and most important continuum of terrestrial, semi-aquatic and aquatic ecosystems in the West African savannah belt. The property is a refuge for wildlife species that have disappeared elsewhere in West Africa or are highly threatened. It is home to the largest population of elephants in West Africa and most of the large mammals typical of the region, such as the African Manatee, cheetah, lion and leopard. It also harbours the only viable population of lions in the region.[4]
Ruins of Loropéni		Sud-Ouest Region	1225; iii (cultural)	2009	The 11,130m2 property, the first to be inscribed in the country, with its imposing stone walls is the best preserved of ten fortresses in the Lobi area and is part of a larger group of 100 stone enclosures that bear testimony to the power of the trans-Saharan gold trade. Situated near the borders of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo, the ruins have recently been shown to be at least 1,000 years old. The settlement was occupied by the Lohron or Koulango peoples, who controlled the extraction and transformation of gold in the region when it reached its apogee from the 14th to the 17th century. Much mystery surrounds this site large parts of which have yet to be excavated. The settlement seems to have been abandoned during some periods during its long history. The property which was finally deserted in the early 19th century is expected to yield much more information.[6]
Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso		Nord Region, Centre-Nord Region	1602; iii, iv, vi (cultural)	2019	This property is composed of five elements located in different provinces of the country. It includes about fifteen standing, natural-draught furnaces, several other furnace structures, mines and traces of dwellings. Douroula, which dates back to the 8th century BCE, is the oldest evidence of the development of iron production found in Burkina Faso. The other components of the property—Tiwêga, Yamané, Kindibo and Békuy—illustrate the intensification of iron production during the second millennium CE. Even though iron ore reduction—obtaining iron from ore—is no longer practiced today, village blacksmiths still play a major role in supplying tools, while taking part in various rituals.[7]
Royal Court of Tiébélé		Centre-Sud Region	1713; iii (cultural)	2024	[8]

In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list.^[9] Burkina Faso maintains four properties on its tentative list.^[10]

Tentative sites

Site	Image	Location (region)	Year listed	UNESCO criteria	Description
Bourzanga necropolis		Centre-Nord Region	iii, iv (cultural)	1996	[11]
Mare aux Hippopotames Biosphere Reserve		Hauts-Bassins Region	ix, x (natural)	2012	[12]
Rock engravings of the Burkinabè Sahel: Pobé-Mengao, Arbinda and Markoye		Sahel Region	ii, iii (cultural)	2012	[13]
Sya, Historic Center of Bobo-Dioulasso		Hauts-Bassins Region	iii, iv (cultural)	2012	[14]

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