Thailand advances Chiang Mai’s Lanna heritage and Wat Arun UNESCO bids
Thai officials outlined new World Heritage plans after UNESCO praised the country’s conservation standards and management of existing sites
- Thailand is actively pursuing World Heritage status for Chiang Mai and the central prang of Wat Arun, following discussions with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
- For the Chiang Mai bid, UNESCO experts are scheduled to visit in early August to assess the site and provide recommendations for the complete nomination dossier.
- A draft request for a preliminary assessment of Wat Arun's central prang has been submitted to the World Heritage Centre, with Thailand now awaiting recommendations before proceeding.
Thailand is moving ahead with efforts to nominate Chiang Mai and the central prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam as new World Heritage sites after holding talks with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Busan.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin led the Thai delegation in discussions with Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the World Heritage Centre, during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee at the BEXCO convention centre in Busan, Republic of Korea.
The committee session is being held from July 19 to 29.
Suchart was accompanied by Natural Resources and Environment permanent secretary Raweewarn Bhuridej, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation director-general Atthapol Charoenchansa and Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning secretary-general Bannarak Sermthong.
The Thai delegation thanked UNESCO for its technical and technological support for the successful inscription of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat as a World Heritage site.
The temple was among the new cultural properties inscribed during the committee’s 48th session.
Thai officials said the inscription would strengthen cultural security and support the local tourism economy.
Chiang Mai nomination preparations advance
Thailand confirmed that it would continue preparing the nomination of “Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna”.
UNESCO experts are scheduled to visit Chiang Mai province in early August to assess the site and provide recommendations for the preparation of a complete nomination dossier.
Chiang Mai has been on Thailand’s World Heritage Tentative List since 2015.
Wat Arun assessment submitted
Thailand has also submitted a draft request for a preliminary assessment of the central prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam to the World Heritage Centre.
The proposed property is titled “Phra Prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam: The Masterpiece of Krung Rattanakosin”.
Thailand is awaiting recommendations from the World Heritage advisory bodies before proceeding to the next stage. Wat Arun was added to the country’s Tentative List in 2025.
Thai sites avoid danger listing
The Thai delegation also reported on measures taken in response to recommendations concerning the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex.
Thai officials said UNESCO praised the country’s management of its World Heritage properties as meeting international standards, with no Thai site placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger during the consideration of conservation reports.
