Press
Release No.2001-137
SIX
NATURAL SITES AND TWO CULTURAL SITES ADDED TO UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE
LIST
Helsinki
(Finland), December 13 – The
island of Fernando de Noronha and the atoll das Rocas (Brazil),
the Dorset and East Devon Coast (United Kingdom) and the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn
region (Switzerland) today joined the ranks of the sites on UNESCO’s
World Heritage List. In total, six natural sites were added to
the List this year.
The
first two new cultural sites were inscribed during the day, most
notably Masada National Park (Israel). It is the first time that
an Israeli site has appeared on the World Heritage List. Other
new cultural sites will probably be announced later in the day.
The
decision to inscribe the eight new sites was taken by the World
Heritage Committee, which on December 11 began its 25th
annual meeting in Helsinki, Finland. This intergovernmental body,
currently chaired by Henrik Lilius of Finland, is responsible
for implementing the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage and therefore the inscriptions on the World Heritage
List.
The six natural
sites added to the List are the following:
Cerrado
Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks
(Brazil)
Brazilian
Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves
(Brazil)
Alejandro
de Humboldt National Park (Cuba)
Central
Sikhote-Alin (Russian Federation)
Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn (Switzerland)
Dorset
and East Devon Coast (United Kingdom)
The first
two cultural sites added are:
Cultural
Landscape of Fertö-Neusiedlersee (Austria/Hungary)
Masada National Park (Israel)
No mixed
site – cultural and natural – was inscribed on the List this year.
It
was also decided to extend three natural sites already on the
List: the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), extension to include
the marine reserve; the Volcanoes of Kamchatka (Russian Federation),
extension to include Kluchevskoy Nature Park; Lake Turkana National
Parks (Kenya), extension of the Sibiloi/Central Island National
Parks to include South Island National Park.
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For
more information: http:/www.unesco.org/whc/
A BRoll is available: Tel (+33) 1 45 68 00 68
Photos of the sites can be obtained:
Tel. (+33) 1 45 68
16 91
- E-mail: mailto:n.burke@unesco.org
