Photo: NMG

The most prestigious heritage status is the Unesco World Heritage Site. A heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, social or cultural history have been preserved due to their cultural history value. Such sites are usually protected under the laws of the host nation but the status is awarded by a team from Unesco who review suitable sites, submitted by Party States, annually .

Currently there are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 Party States. Of this number, Kenya hosts six sites: Fort Jesus, Lamu Old Town, Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, Great Rift Valley, Lake Turkana National Park and Mount Kenya National Park/Forest. Several other sites have been submitted for consideration and are on the Tentative List, awaiting ratification.

Strangely enough, World Heritage Sites trace their origins to the construction of the Aswan Dam mega project in Egypt in 1954.

Fort Jesus in Mombasa County, one of Kenya’s famous historical monuments will benefit from a $3.9 million restoration project that will see it receive a major facelift.

The seafront of the 16th century fort is currently being eroded by rising tides, which are also chipping away at its coral foundation and compromising its structural integrity. The facelift will increase the shoreline by reclaiming two acres from the ocean.

The project, which will take two years, is a reaction to the recent study by Unesco warning that heritage sites and landmarks such as Fort Jesus in Mombasa, the Vasco da Gama Pillar in Malindi on the North Coast, and the Old British Customs House in Vanga, Msambweni County on the South Coast — all situated on the seashore — face an uncertain future due to rising sea levels.

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