MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has contributed 5,000 euros to the World Heritage Fund as a symbolic gesture of the country’s commitment to the conservation and preservation of natural and cultural heritage.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the contribution would help support the World Heritage Education Program, one of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s most successful flagship programs for the youth.
The program is designed to mobilize young people to actively participate in the promotion of world heritage. Its activities likewise provide the knowledge, skills and commitment in heritage protection.
The Philippines is State Party to the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The country currently has five sites included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, namely: the Baroque churches of the Philippines, inscribed in 1993; Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (1993); the rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (1995); the historic town of Vigan (1999); and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (1999).