The World Heritage Committee has removed three African heritage sites, in Madagascar, Egypt and Libya, from UNESCO`s list of endangered sites, acknowledging successful efforts to mitigate threats and restore their cultural and ecological integrity. The decision was taken on July 9 during the ongoing 47th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Paris, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said these removals are the result of extensive efforts by states parties, with UNESCO`s support, to significantly reduce threats to these sites. The sites taken off the danger list are the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in Madagascar, Abu Mena in Egypt, and the Old Town of Ghadamès in Libya.

"When sites are removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger, it is a great victory for all. For the countries and communities directly concerned, for UNESCO and, more broadly, for the shared heritage of humanity," Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay said, according to the statement. "We are pursuing a special effort for Africa, both to train experts and facilitate new inscriptions and to support strategies to bring some sites out of danger. These efforts are paying off today", she said.