There's the site where Jesus was believed to have been baptized
by John the Baptist. And then there are the spots where French Champagne and
Burgundy were born. And you remember the Alamo, part of the San Antonio
Missions of Texas?
They are among
the 27 newest members of the exclusive UNESCO World Heritage List.
Since Friday,
the United Nations' cultural body has named natural, cultural and combination
sites around the world to its prestigious preservation list. The World
Heritage List now includes 1,031 natural and cultural wonders that are
considered to be places of "outstanding universal value."
The UNESCO World
Heritage Committee had been considering new sites at a meeting in Bonn, Germany,
that started June 28.
San Antonio
Missions site gets World Heritage status
The inscribed
sites of "outstanding universal value" must also meet one or more of 10 criteriasuch as
"representing a masterpiece of human creative genius," containing
"exceptional natural beauty" or being an outstanding example of a
traditional human settlement.
UNESCO has been
adding sites to the World Heritage List since 1978. Nations often spend years
developing pitches for inclusion on the list because of its significant
cultural cachet and the fame and resources it can attract to sites in need of
restoration and protection. They must convince the UNESCO committee that they
will protect their sites and support them financially.
Explore
Yellowstone and 11 more of the first World Heritage Sites
The World
Heritage Committee also added three sites to the List of World Heritage in Dangerbecause
of armed conflict in the countries in which they are located. There are two
sites in Yemen, the Old City of Sana'a and the Old Walled City of Shibam, and
Hatra in Iraq.
France wine
country toasted with World Heritage status
The committee
declined to add the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the list in danger last week, much
to the relief of Australia's government, which had feared the negative
attention.
The committee
cited improvements in the government's response to the reef's problems but set
a December 2016 deadline for a report on improvements to the beloved site.
Pollution and coal projects have brought the reef worldwide attention, and many
environmental groups have lobbied for the "in danger" listing.
At the same
time, Los Katíos National Park in Colombia was removed from the List of World
Heritage in Danger after national authorities took steps to reduce illegal
overfishing and timber extraction. It was placed on the list in danger in 2009
at the request of Colombia's government.
The United
States doesn't have much sway over UNESCO decisions anymore; the government withdrew its dues and
other financial contributions to UNESCO in 2011. That's because the agency admitted the
Palestinian government as a full member representing a country.
After failing to
pay its dues for two years, the United States lost UNESCO voting rights in
2013, per the agency's rules.
Go to whc.unesco.org/en/newproperties to learn more about the newly named
sites.
UNESCO's newly inscribed World Heritage
List sites
1. China: Tusi
sites
2. Denmark:
Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church settlement
3. Denmark: Par
Force hunting landscape in North Zealand
4. France:
Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars
5. France:
Climats, terroirs of Burgundy
6. Germany:
Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus
7. Iran:
Cultural landscape of Maymand
8. Iran: Susa
9. Israel:
Necropolis of Bet She'arim, a landmark of Jewish renewal
10. Italy:
Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedral churches of Cefalú and Monreale
11. Jamaica:
Blue and John Crow mountains
12. Japan: Sites
of Japan's Meiji industrial revolution
13. Jordan:
Baptism site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" (Al-Maghtas)
14. Republic of
Korea: Baekje historic areas
15. Mexico:
Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque hydraulic system
16. Mongolia:
Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape
17. Norway:
Notodden industrial heritage site in Rjukan
18. Saudi
Arabia: Rock art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia
19. Singapore:
Singapore Botanical Gardens
20. South
Africa: Cape Floral Region protected areas (significant extension of "Cape
Floral Region protected areas" site)
21. Spain:
Routes of Santiago in Northern Spain (significant extension of "Routes of
Santiago de Compostela" site)
22. Turkey:
Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens cultural landscape
23. Turkey:
Ephesus
24. United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The Forth Bridge
25. United
States: San Antonio Missions
26. Uruguay:
Fray Bentos cultural-industrial landscape
27. Viet Nam: Ke
Bang National Park (significant extension of "Phong Nha-Ke Bang National
Park" site)
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