Justicia Shipena
Namibia has officially submitted a nomination to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to have the Dâures/Brandberg National Monument Area listed as a World Heritage Site.
The submission was announced in Parliament on Tuesday by minister of education, innovation, youth, sports, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp.
She said the nomination dossier was submitted on 29 January 2026, ahead of Unesco’s 1 February deadline.
“I am pleased to announce that we have officially submitted a comprehensive nomination dossier to Unesco for the Dâures/Brandberg National Monument Area to be inscribed on the World Heritage List,” Steenkamp told the National Assembly.
The Cabinet approved the nomination in September of last year.
If approved, the Brandberg will become Namibia’s third World Heritage Site, after Twyfelfontein, listed in 2007, and the Namib Sand Sea, listed in 2013.
The Dâures/Brandberg area is Namibia’s highest mountain and lies about 30 kilometres northwest of Uis in the Erongo Region.
The site is home to the “White Lady” rock painting and thousands of San rock art sites.
It also has both rock engravings and paintings, with more than 120 archaeological sites recorded.
Namibia ratified the Unesco World Heritage Convention in April 2000, which allows the country to submit sites for international recognition.
Steenkamp said the Brandberg holds both natural and cultural value.
She explained that the mountain is a large granitic formation created during the breakup of Gondwana and hosts plant and animal species found nowhere else.
She also highlighted its cultural importance, saying the area contains more than 900 rock art sites that document human history over about 5 000 years.
“These sites contain rare archaeological evidence, including pottery, beads and sheep dung, tracing the remarkable transition from hunter-gatherer to hunter-herder society,” Steenkamp said.
The nomination process was supported by the African World Heritage Fund, which provided financial and technical assistance of about US$60 000.
The support also focused on building local expertise so Namibian specialists can prepare future nominations without relying heavily on external consultants.
Three weeks ago, the National Heritage Council of Namibia (NHC) said it had spent about N$380 000 on the project, alongside financial support of about N$1.08 million from the African World Heritage Fund.
The funds were used for stakeholder consultations, public awareness, capacity building and assembling the application.
The proposal also includes a 10-kilometer buffer zone around the existing national monument.
The Unesco World Heritage Committee is expected to consider the nomination by July 2027.
Caption
The Dâures/Brandberg National Monument Area in the Erongo region, home to thousands of San rock art sites, has been nominated for Unesco World Heritage status.
- Photo: Contributed
