World Heritage Committee Turns Its Attentions to Victoria Falls

Keep Victoria Falls Wild, 15th July 2026

The Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls World Heritage Site has been added to the list of Sites to be discussed by the World Heritage Committee at the forthcoming 48th session of World Heritage Committee, to be held at Busan, Republic of Korea over 19th-29th July 2026.

Following publication of the Draft Decision text to be presented to the Committee next week for adoption (Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs, 9th July 2026), and 'third party' representations submitted to Committee members on Monday morning, the Site was nominated by Senegal in a revised list (WHC/26/48.COM/INF.7.Rev) published on the UNESCO website later the same day.

"The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies open for discussion  only state of conservation reports... where they propose to: Remove a site from the List of World Heritage in Danger, inscribe a site on the List of World Heritage in Danger, or Delete a site from the World Heritage List.

"World Heritage Committee members can also propose to open for discussion a state of conservation report initially foreseen for adoption without discussion." (UNESCO/World Heritage Centre 2026)

The nomination of the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site for discussion by the Committee follows a growing list of conservation issues relating to increasing tourism development pressures, failures in State Party reporting and ongoing delays in the finalisation of a joint management plan for the Site (Keep Victoria Falls Wild,January 2026).

The World Heritage Committee has repeatedly warned over the cumulative impacts of tourism developments at the Victoria Falls, with recent controversy centred on the Baines Restaurant development, constructed over 2022 and opened in 2023 within the World Heritage Site and without notification to the UNESCO. The development is also within an extended area declared 'protected permanently' from all new development under the 1975 Victoria Falls Outline Plan (Roberts, 2026)

In April campaign group Keep Victoria Falls Wild called for a moratorium on all developments within and surrounding the site until finalisation, and agreement, of a new joint management plan for the site (Keep Victoria Falls Wild, April 2026).

References

Keep Victoria Falls Wild (January 2026) Reaction and Response to 2025 State of Conservation Report and 2025-2030 Draft Joint Integrated Management Plan (pdf, direct download from the KVFW website, 0.6mb).

Keep Victoria Falls Wild (April 2026) Serious Concerns Over Management of Victoria Falls World Heritage Site (pdf, direct download from the KVFW website, 1.3mb).

Roberts, P (2026) Paradise Lost? Conservation and Development of the Victoria Falls (1900-2025). Zambezi Book Company / CreateSpace Independent Publishing.

Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (9th July 2026) Still Kicking the Can Down the Road... UNESCO World Heritage Committee Draft Decision text published.

UNESCO/World Heritage Centre (2026) WHC/26/48.COM/INF.7.Rev (pdf, direct download from the UNESCO website).