Unesco adds 13 new sites to heritage list
AFP, Beijing
North Korea was awarded its first-ever site on the Unesco World Heritage List as a total of 13 new cultural sites around the world were named to the list during an ongoing conference in Suzhou, China, Unesco said in a statement yesterday. The cities and tombs of the Koguryo Kingdom that spanned the Korean peninsula and parts of present-day northeastern China from 277 BC to 668 AD won separate listings for both China and North Korea on the prestigious list Thursday, the statement said. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Uneso) also placed the Madriu-Claror-Perafita Valley on the list, giving Andorra its first-ever listing. China was also honored with extensions to existing heritage sites of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it said. So far at the ongoing conference, 21 new sites have been added to the list out of some 48 that have applied. Friday will mark the final day for new listings this year. The other 10 newly listed World Heritage Sites include the following: Australia - Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens. India - Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park. India - Chhatrapati Shivaji Station (formerly Victoria Terminus) Islamic Republic of Iran - Pasargadae, capital of ancient Persia Japan - Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. Jordan - The archaeological site of Um er-Rasas (Kastron Mefaa). Kazakhstan - Petroglyphs within the Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly. Mongolia - Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape. Norway - Vegaoyan - the Vega Archipelago. The Russian Federation - Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent. Earlier this week five new natural sites and three other cultural sites were added to the World Heritage List. Listing -- based on the uniqueness and quality of the sites as well as how well-protected they are -- is significant mainly for stepping up government-funding for the sites and drawing in tourists. The conference is also reviewing the List of World Heritage in Danger, which currently features 35 sites. These are sites that are seriously threatened by industry or mining, pollution, looting, war, uncontrolled tourism, poaching, and other problems. The list includes sites such as the Minaret and the Archeological Remains of Jam in Afghanistan as well as the ancient desert city of Timbuktu in Mali.
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