Natural wonders nominated for heritage status
The rainforests of Madagascar are one site nominated
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Friday, 15, Jun 2007 04:58
Five natural sites have been recommended for inclusion on the World Heritage List by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
The five sites, ranging from the rainforests of Madagascar to the forests of Slovakia, will be recommended to the Unesco World Heritage Committee along with one mixed site and the extension of one natural site.
A dozen missions were carried out by IUCN inspectors to choose which five should be suggested. The committee will consider 37 new cultural and natural sites at its 31st meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, from June 23rd to July 2nd.
The five natural sites nominated by the IUCN are the South China Karst, a distinctive rock formation; the rainforests of Atsinanana, Madagascar; Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, Republic of Korea; Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, Slovakia and Ukraine; and the Teide National Park, Spain.
Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn, Switzerland, is being recommended by the IUCN as the natural site which should be extended under the World Heritage list.
"It provides an outstanding record of the geological processes that formed the High Alps," the IUCN said. "A diverse range of flora and fauna is also represented in the site and plant colonisation in the wake of retreating glaciers provides an excellent example of plant succession."
The new mixed-site nominated by the IUCN is the Ecosystem and Relic Cultural Landscape of Lope-Okanda, Gabon.
At present the World Heritage List includes 830 sites, of which 644 are cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed (cultural and natural).