The Jakarta Post
Antara, Quebec | Wed, 07/02/2008 2:18 PM
Along with 40 other state parties to the World Heritage Convention, Indonesia will present properties to be considered for UNESCO's World Heritage List during this year's session Wednesday hosted by Canada.
Among the 41 states parties are five countries that have no sites inscribed on the list: Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, San Marino, Saudi Arabia and Vanuatu, according UNESCO's website.
The committee will review whether the 30 World Heritage sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger are being adequately preserved and may decide to add new sites requiring special attention to the list.
The List in Danger features sites which are threatened by a variety of problems such as natural disasters, pillaging, pollution and poorly managed mass tourism.
Germany's Dresden Elbe Valley will come under particular scrutiny. The Committee will decide whether to keep the property on the World Heritage list or whether the building of a bridge in the heart of the landscape warrants its deletion.
To date, UNESCO's 1972 Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects 851 properties of outstanding universal value including 660 cultural, 166 natural and 25 mixed sites in 141 states.
Natural properties submitted for inscription to the World Heritage List this year include the Fabrica Nacional de Cementos S.A. (FANCESA), Cal Orck'O, Sucre, Departamento Chuquisaca
(Bolivia), the Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Canada), Mount Sanqingshan National Park (China), the lagoons of New Caledonia (France), Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Mexico), Socotra Archipelago (Yemen).
Meanwhile, cultural properties submitted for inscription to the list includes Bali (Indonesia), the historical centers of Berat and Gjirokastra (Albania), the Preah Vihear temple (Cambodia), Fujian Tulou (China), the Stari Grad plain (Croatia), Camaguey (Cuba), the river island Majuli (India) and the Armenian monastic ensembles in Iranian Azarbayjan (Islamic Republic of Iran). Others submitted are the triple-arch gate at Dan (Israel), Mijikenda Kaya forests (Kenya), Sulamain-Too mountain (Kyrgyzstan), and the historical cities Melaka and George Town (Malaysia).
The convention coincides with Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations.