UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova Presents World Heritage Certificate to President Peña Nieto of Mexico

Paris, 16 July – Director-General Irina Bokova presented the President of Mexico, HE Enrique Peña Nieto, the certificate of inscription to UNESCO’s World Heritage List of the Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System during his official visit to UNESCO Headquarters today. The presentation of the certificate took place in the context of an official ceremony in the presence of the Chairperson of the Executive Board and Ambassador of Egypt, HE Mohamed Sameh Amr, and representatives of Member States to UNESCO.
After the ceremony presenting the certificate, the Director-General and the President of Mexico held a bilateral meeting during which they discussed issues of mutual interest including the importance of education for sustainable development, the protection of cultural heritage and safeguarding of cultural expressions, the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property and the importance of biosphere reserves in the context of the fight against climate change.
Inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 5 July 2015, the Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque was built in the 16th century and is located between the states of Mexico and Hidalgo, on the Central Mexican Plateau. This heritage canal system encompasses a water catchment area, springs, canals, distribution tanks and arcaded aqueduct bridges.
The site incorporates the highest single-level arcade ever built in an aqueduct. Initiated by the Franciscan friar, Padre Tembleque, and built with support from the local indigenous communities, this hydraulic system is an example of the exchange of influences between the European tradition of Roman hydraulics and traditional Mesoamerican construction techniques, including the use of adobe. It was added to the 32 other Mexican sites already inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which makes Mexico the country with the highest number of inscriptions in the Americas and the 6th highest worldwide.