World Heritage Site tag for Living Root Bridges
Shillong, May 27: The Meghalaya government had missed deadline to submit the nomination dossier to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for the iconic Living Root Bridges, locally known as Jingkieng Jri.
Chief of the Culture Unit at UNESCO’s New Delhi South Asia Regional Office, Junhi Han explained that the nomination process is rigorous, typically taking around 18 months.
Han, who was here to attend a one-day workshop on preparation of the World Heritage nomination dossier, said the deadline for submitting the nomination dossier to the World Heritage Centre in Paris is the beginning of February every year.
“Since the 2025 deadline has already passed, the Meghalaya government will have to target February 2026 for its submission,” the UNESCO representative said while adding that if the dossier is deemed complete and it meets UNESCO’s eligibility criteria, it will move on to the evaluation stage.
She also said that the final decision on whether the Living Root Bridges will be inscribed as a World Heritage Site will be made by the World Heritage Committee in 2027.
The Department of Art and Culture organised a one-day workshop on Tuesday at the Heritage Club, Tripura Castle, aimed at guiding the preparation of the World Heritage nomination dossier titled “Jingkieng Jri: Living Root Bridges Cultural Landscapes.”
The workshop was attended by Padma Shri Prof David Syiemlieh, Principal Secretary of Forest and Environment Sampath Kumar and Principal Secretary of Art and Culture FR Kharkongor.
So far, 131 Living Root Bridges have been documented, although experts believe many others, located in challenging terrain, have remained undiscovered. A UNESCO team is scheduled to conduct a visit to the sites of Living Root Bridges on Wednesday.
Earlier, Sampath Kumar highlighted that the preservation efforts for the Living Root Bridges began in 2018. He noted that Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had expressed strong interest in pursuing UNESCO recognition for the bridges and pledged full support for the initiative.
“After receiving political backing, we proceeded to engage experts for the documentation process,” said Kumar.
Further, he stated that over 100 community meetings were conducted—even during the COVID-19 pandemic—to gather local knowledge and data on the bridges.
FR Kharkongor said the Living Root Bridges are located in East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts, spanning five administrative blocks and involving 73 villages.
“We are hopeful about the inclusion of our Living Root Bridges or Jingkieng Jri in the World Heritage list. This workshop is a significant step towards that goal,” Kharkongor stated, adding that the state government aspires to see the Living Root Bridges become a World Heritage Site.
In September last year, Minister for Art and Culture Paul Lyngdoh had led a delegation to Paris to push for the recognition of these unique, bio-engineered structures.
During a visit to the UNESCO Archives, the team delivered a comprehensive presentation to Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, highlighting the significance of the Living Root Bridges.