After the Department of State announced that the US will be withdrawing from UNESCO as a member, we thought it would a good idea to remind you where you can find America’s World Heritage Sites.
Since 1978, UNESCO has established 23 cultural and historic sites within the US. Most of these sites are also National Parks, so it is unlikely that they will encounter any immediate negative affects. This is also not the first time the US has left UNESCO: President Reagan withdrew from the organization in 1984, while the Obama administration cut off payments to the organization in 2011. Both these administrations and others have cited “anti-Israel bias” as a cause for criticism. But by giving up UNESCO membership, the US is forfeiting its obligation to fund the protection of other sites across the globe, including sites at risk from climate change and warfare.
