New sites on world heritage list soon

BRASILIA - Representatives from over 100 countries will meet here to discuss the inclusion of new sites in the Unesco World Heritage List.

This year, 32 new sites have been submitted for inclusion in the world heritage list: six natural, 24 cultural and two mixed (both natural and cultural at the same time).

The sites include Darwin’s Landscape Laboratory in Britain, palaeolithic rock art ensemble in Siega Verde, shared by Portugal and Spain, historic monuments in Dengfeng in China’s Henan province and the Ngorogoro Conservation Area in Tanzania.

Brazil’s Culture Minister Joao Luiz Silva Ferreira, who is also president of the World Heritage Committee, stressed the importance of government action and expressed concern over threats economic growth could impose on the heritage.

“We need a very clear commitment to enhance government action and establish strict criteria to ensure the preservation,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Unesco Director General Irina Bokova and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will also attend the meeting, which will take place between July 25 and Aug 3.

Currently, the World Heritage List recognises 890 sites of “outstanding universal value”, located in 148 countries.