© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
November 24, 2000

PARIS, France, November 24, 2000 (ENS) - UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will hold its 24th annual session in Cairns, Australia, from November 27 to December 2, during which it will inscribe new cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List and review the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Committee will this year examine 71 sites proposed by 43 countries. Two countries, Azerbaijan and Malaysia, are putting forward sites for the first time. The Azerbaijan site is of cultural, rather than natural, importance.

Malaysia's proposal is to safeguard Kinbalu Park, which has such high biodiversity that it contains representatives of more than half of the families of all flowering plants.

The new sites listed will be announced on November 30, while any changes to the List of World Heritage in Danger will be known on November 28. The Committee session is preceded on November 23 to 28 by a World Heritage Youth Forum, the eighth event of its kind but the first to be held in the Pacific region.

The World Heritage Committee session is expected to hear of damage caused by a mine owned jointly by the Romanian government and Esmeralda Explorations, Ltd. of Australia - the Baia Mare gold recovery project in northwestern Romania. In January, breach of a tailings dam spilled cyanide tainted water into eastern European rivers wiping out all aquatic life from the mine to the Black Sea.

In addition to considering requests for listing of new heritage sites, UNESCO will examine reports on 65 of the 630 existing sites of cultural or natural outstanding universal value listed in 118 countries around the world.

Sites on the In Danger list to be examined include Yellowstone National Park and the Everglades National Park in the United States. In each case the listing is being maintained at the wish of the U.S. government as it continues action to safeguard the parks.

At its July meeting, the World Heritage Bureau pointed to other properties in danger including five national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where war threatens the protection of gorilla, rhinoceros and elephant populations.

Also of concern is Brazil's Iguacu Falls where the illegal opening of a road has had adverse environmental impacts.

Other nominations include the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, neolithic flint mines near Mons in Belgium, and the entire Italian city of Verona, described as an outstanding example of a town that developed progressively and uninterrupted over 2,000 years.

The intergovernmental World Heritage Committee includes 21 representatives from the 161 countries that are Parties to the Convention. They are elected for a term of six years by the General Assembly of the States Parties to the 1972 international treaty - the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The 21 member committee determines the inclusion of sites on the World Heritage List on the recommendation of two advisory bodies: the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), for cultural sites, and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), for natural sites.

The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) for its part is mandated to provide expert advice on monument restoration and organises training sessions for specialists.

By adhering to the Convention, countries commit to ensure the preservation of those sites which they themselves have nominated and which have been included on the World Heritage List.

The World Heritage Committee examines reports on the state of conservation of listed sites and requires countries to take corrective measures when the listed sites are not managed properly. States concerned must also adopt legislative and regulatory measures to protect these sites.

The World Heritage Committee allocates subsidies provided by the World Heritage Fund. It can provide emergency financing to make possible repairs to human caused or naturally incurred damages.

The Committee facilitates technical co-operation - expert intervention, material assistance, and personnel training.

The World Heritage Fund has an annual budget of over US$4 million provided through obligatory and voluntary contributions from countries that are Parties to the treaty. Error: Unable to read footer file.