World Heritage Sites in Botswana

• Tsodilo Hills
  "The Louvre of the desert", situated in the Kalahari.
  Roughly around 4,500 rockpaintings in only 10 km²
  The Ngamiland District, north-west Botswana

World Heritage Sites in Mozamqique

• Island of Mozambique / Ilha de Mocambique
  former Portuguese trading-post on the route to India.
  tra:mag destination check Mozambique
  Ilha de Mocambique District, Nampula Province

World Heritage Sites in South Africa

• Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Environs
  "The Cradle of Humankind"
  tra:mag city guide Johannesburg
  Gauteng, Limpopo and North-west provinces
• Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
  tra:mag specials Southern African Highlights
  KwaZulu-Natal
• Robben Island
  tra:mag city guide Cape Town
  Western Cape Province
• uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park
  tra:mag specials Southern African Highlights
  KwaZulu-Natal
• Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
  once the largest kingdom in the sub-continent
  abandonded in 14th century
  Northern Province
  World heritage site closed amid financial crisis - link (06-07-07)
• Cape Floral Region Protected Areas
  tra:mag city guide Cape Town
  Western Cape Province, Eastern Cape Province; also click here
• Vredefort Dome
  part of a larger meteorite impact structure - an astrobleme
  about 2 mio years old
  Northwest and Free State provinces
• The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
  The 160,000 ha. Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Lanscape of dramatic mountainous desert in the north-west part of South Africa constitutes a cultural landscape communally owned and managed.
  Northern Cape

World Heritage Sites in Zambia

• Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls
  tra:mag specials Southern African Highlights
  Livingstone District of Southern Province of the Republic of Zambia

World Heritage Sites in Zimbabwe

• Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas
  right on the banks of the mighty Zambezi
  high concentration of wild life
  Urungwe District, Mashonaland North region
• Great Zimbabwe National Monument
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  Masvingo (Southern) Province
• Khami Ruins National Monument
  developed after the capital of Great Zimbabwe had been abandoned
  major centre of trade for a long period of time
  Western Region, Matabeleland
• Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls
  tra:mag specials Southern African Highlights
  Hwange District of Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe
• Matobo Hills
  tra:mag specials Southern African Highlights
  Matebeleland, South Province

World Heritage Sites in Namibia

• Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes
  Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes has one of the largest concentrations of rock petroglyphs, i.e. rock carvings, in Africa.
  Kunene Region

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa's Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world's heritage.

What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage , adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

UNESCO's World Heritage mission is to:

• encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;
• encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;
• encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;
• help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;
• provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;
• support States Parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;
• encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;
• encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.

taken from http://whc.unesco.org/en/about