The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. 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. Mali accepted the convention on April 5, 1977, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2023, Mali has four World Heritage Sites, however, because of the instability in the country, three of them are listed in the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. Mali has served on the World Heritage Committee twice.
World Heritage Sites 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.
+ Site Image Location (region) Year listed DescriptionOld Towns of DjennéMopti Region1988 116rev; iii, iv (cultural)Inhabited since 250 B.C., Djenné became a market centre and an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it was one of the centres for the propagation of Islam. Its traditional houses, of which nearly 2,000 have survived, are built on hillocks (toguere) as protection from the seasonal floods. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.Timbuktu Tomboctou Region1988 119rev; ii, iv, v (cultural)Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu's golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons)Mopti Region1989 516; v, vii (mixed)The Bandiagara site is an outstanding landscape of cliffs and sandy plateaux with some beautiful architecture (houses, granaries, altars, sanctuaries and Togu Na, or communal meeting-places). Several age-old social traditions live on in the region (masks, feasts, rituals, and ceremonies involving ancestor worship). The geological, archaeological and ethnological interest, together with the landscape, make the Bandiagara plateau one of West Africa's most impressive sites. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.Tomb of AskiaGao Region2004 1139; ii, iii, iv (cultural)The dramatic 17-m pyramidal structure of the Tomb of Askia was built by Askia Mohamed, the Emperor of Songhai, in 1495 in his capital Gao. It bears testimony to the power and riches of the empire that flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries through its control of the trans-Saharan trade, notably in salt and gold. It is also a fine example of the monumental mud-building traditions of the West African Sahel. The complex, including the pyramidal tomb, two flat-roofed mosque buildings, the mosque cemetery and the open-air assembly ground, was built when Gao became the capital of the Songhai Empire and after Askia Mohamed had returned from Mecca and made Islam the official religion of the empire. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.
Tentative List 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. , Mali has listed fifteen properties on its tentative list.
+ Site Image Location (region) Year listed UNESCO criteria Description Boucle du BaouléKayes Region, Koulikoro Region1999 ii, iv (cultural)Es-SoukKidal Region1999 ii, iv (cultural)Hamdullahi Historic CityMopti Region2009 i, vi (cultural)Médine FortKayes Region2009 iii, iv (cultural)Great Friday Mosque of NionoSégou Region2009 iii, iv (cultural)Komoguel MosqueMopti Region2009 iii, iv (cultural)Tata of SikassoSikasso Region2009 i, ii, vi (cultural)Biosphere Reserve of Bafing Makana ParkKayes Region2016 viii, x (natural)Lac Magui Nature ReserveKayes Region2016 viii, x (natural)Gourma Elephant Biodiversity ReserveTomboctou Region2017 viii, x (natural)Niger River Basin (from the Markala threshold to Lake Débo) Mopti Region, Ségou Region, Tomboctou Region2017 viii, x (natural)Bamako CathedralBamako Region2017 ii, iv (cultural)Mandiakuy ChurchSégou Region2017 ii, iv (cultural)Historical Sites and Cultural Landscapes of MandenKoulikoro Region2018 ii, iv, x (mixed)Mosque of Kankou Moussa in GaoGao Region2021 ii, iv (cultural)
See also List of Intangible Cultural Heritage elements in Mali
References