Cultural traditions associated with the Uzbek national dish palov (aka osh, plov) have been included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
On 17 July 2016 in Istanbul, in accordance with the decision of the 40th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a part of the Central Asian Tien Shan mountain system covering the territories of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage List as a trans-boundary site Western Tien Shan. From Uzbekistan, it includes protected areas of Maydantal and Bashkyzylsay of the Ugam-Chatkal State National Park. The nomination “Chatkal Mountains” of the transnational object “Western Tien Shan” is the first natural site in Uzbekistan that has been granted such a high status.
The ceremony of awarding certificates was held under the auspices of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Nature Protection and the National Commission of Uzbekistan for UNESCO. It was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Culture and Sports, Foreign Affairs, Public Education, and the Academy of Sciences.
Addressing the guests, the head of UNESCO Office in our country, Krista Pikkat, noted that Uzbekistan has unique cultural and natural monuments, which are undoubtedly part of the world heritage. She said she was very pleased on behalf of UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova, to hand in the certificates entrusting the government of Uzbekistan for the inclusion of the Western Tien Shan on the World Heritage List and the traditions and culture of pilaf and Navruz in the list of intangible cultural heritage. To date, five objects of Uzbekistan are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage and six elements in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
