1993 (no. 2)
** WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE MEETING The 16th session of the World Heritage Committee met in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from December 7-14, 1992. Member States representatives attended from Brazil, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia and the United States of America. Member States which were not members of the Committee were represented by Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech & Slovak Federal Republic, Finland, Greece, Guinea, The Holy See, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Switzerland. Attending in an advisory capacity were representatives from the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Azedine Beschaouch (Tunisia), outgoing Chairman, opened the session of the World Heritage Committee by thanking the Honorable Manuel Lujan, Secretary of the Interior and the Honorable Bruce King, Governor of New Mexico, for inviting the committee to Santa Fe. Mr. Beschaouch called attention to the fact that 1992 marked 20 years of successful work by the Committee since the adoption of the World Heritage Convention, which has been ratified by 131 countries and now includes a total of 379 sites. ** SIXTEEN NEW CULTURAL SITES INSCRIBED ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST Sixteen new cultural sites were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Two listed sites were extended and a natural site was named a mixed cultural-natural site. Albania, Cambodia and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic had their first sites inscribed. The new sites are: # Butrinti, Albania, has been called a "veritable conservatory of major monuments" from the Greek, Roman, Slav and Venetian periods. Abandoned in the late Middle Ages after marshes formed in the area, the city was left in ruins, unencumbered by modern development. # Kasbah of Alders, Algeria, is an outstanding example of a historic Maghreb city, built between the 16th and 17th centuries. The Kasbah preserves traditional Arab-Mediterranean houses which blend the ancestral Arab lifestyle and Moslem customs with other architectural traditions. # Angkor, Cambodia, is a complex of some 50 magnificent stone monuments covering an area of 200 square kilometers. The former Khmer capital reached the height of its prosperity between the 9th and 13th centuries, after which it was abandoned for 5 centuries. # Historic Center of Prague, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Prague illustrates the process of continuous urban growth from the Middle Ages to the present day. The richness of its architectural and artistic traditions meant that it served as a major model for urban development for much of Central and Eastern Europe. The later Middle Ages in Central Europe saw the establishment of planned settlements in virgin forest for reasons of political control and economic expansion. # The Historic Center of Telc, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, with its triangular market place and Renaissance buildings, is such a settlement. # Cathedral of St. Stephen, Bourges, France, is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Unlike many great churches of the period, it was conceived and constructed as a whole and not added to piecemeal. It is also lauded for its masterly management of space with harmonious proportions and decoration of the highest quality. # Rammelsberg and the historic town of Goslar, Germany, is one of the oldest mining and metallurgical complexes in the world and is considered "a masterpiece of the creative genius" of man. Rammelsberg is a museum of mining with remains of silver, copper, lead, zinc, and gold mining installations from the 10th to the 20th centuries. The nearby town of Goslar contains medieval palaces and churches. # The ancient city of Pythagoreion and the temple of Heraion, Samos, Greece, are among the most impressive and complete remams of the Greco-Roman world. Samos was the leading maritime and mercantile power in the Greek world in the 6th century B.C. and its importance is reflected in the extent and richness of the archaeological remains. # The pre-hispanic city of El Tajin, Mexico, occupied between 800 and 1200 A.D., includes three pyramids and various plazas. It is one of the best-preserved and most thoroughly excavated example of a pre-Hispanic towns in the world. # The Rio Abiseo National Park, Peru, already on the World Heritage list as a natural site, was added to the cultural list due to important archaeological remains in the park. # The Old Town of Zamosc, Poland, is an outstanding example of a Renaissance planned town of the late 16th century which retains its original layout and fortifications. The town is a conservatory of Russian architecture from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. # The Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands, Russia, comprises an important group of religious and secular monuments in white limestone in the Vladimir region. The Cathedral of the Assumption, for instance, built in 1158, was meant to be the religious center of all Russia. # The Ban Chiang Archaeological Site, Thailand, is considered the most important prehistoric settlement discovered in southeast Asia. A center of cultural, social and technological evolution, Ban Chiang presents early evidence of farming and manufacture and use of metals in the region. # The Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico, United States, is a group of adobe habitations and ceremonial centers, or kivas, representing a culture largely derived from the prehistoric Anasazi Indian tribes. The settlement is thought to have appeared before 1400. Taos is considered a remarkable example of its type. The Committee decided to extend Potsdam, Germany, to include the Park at Sacrow Castle and the Church of St. Saviour. The extension completes the inscription of a remarkable piece of early 19th-century, large-scale landscaping. The site of the Megalithic Temples, Malta, described as the oldest free-standing monuments in the world, now includes an additional grouping of 5 prehistoric temples situated on the islands of Malta and Gozo. ** FIVE NEW NATURAL SITES INSCRIBED ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST # In Australia, Fraser Island, was added to the List. Fraser Island on the southeast coast of Queensland is 122 km long and 25 km at its widest, which makes it the largest sand island in the world. Fraser is now the haunt of hundreds of thousanas of tourists each year. # Belovzhskaya Puscha State National Park in southwest Belarus covers 87,600 hectares of virgin conifer and mixed forest inhabited by European bison, as well as wolf, red deer, Iynx, otter and wild boar. It is a unique virgin forest, with many threatened animal and plant species. The bison had been hunted to extinction by 1919, but were reintroduced 10 years later, and now number 300. The park borders on the Polish National Park, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. However, the Belarus park is about 18 times the size of the Polish park. The IUCN suggested that the game fence between the two parks be removed, to allow the wildlife to move freely. # Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, in China's Hunan Province, is a spectacular area distinguished by its more than 3,000 narrow sandstone pillars and peaks, many over 200 meters high. Between the peaks are ravines and gorges with streams, pools and waterfalls, and 40 caves. The Huanglong, or Yellow Dragon, cave is one of the 10 largest in China; it is 11 kilometers long and has a 50-meter waterfall inside. There are 2 high natural bridges in Wulingyan: Xiarenquias, the "Bridge of the Immortals" and Tinqiashengkong, the "Bridge Across the Sky." The latter rises 357 meters above the valley floor and may be the highest natural bridge in the world. Due to its inaccessible terrain, Wulingyan has been left largely undisturbed, although it is in the middle of a populous agricultural region. Dhole (a fiery wild dog), Chinese giant salamander, Asian black bear, clouded leopard and Chinese water deer inhabit the site, which cover 2t),400 hectares. # Giant pandas inhabit the Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area, in the northern Sichuan Province of China, in the Min Shan mountain range. This site of 72,000 hectares is also famous for its ribbon lakes, terraced and separated by dikes, shoals and waterfalls. The Xionguashai or Panda Lake falls drop 78 meters in 3 steps; Zhengzhutan or Pearl Shoals falls is 28 meters high and 310 meters wide. Besides the pandas (40 were found in the last census), the park also has a population of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. # The third Chinese site inscribed on the List is the Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area, also situated in the southern part of the Min Shan range. Huanglong valley is surrounded by steep peaks on three sides, and features hot springs, waterfalls, lakes, pools and dense forest. Like its sister site in Jiuzhaigou, it has a population of the endangered giant pandas. In Huanglonggou, the Yellow Dragon Gully, pools are colored in shades ranging from orange and yellow to green and blue due to the algae and bacteria in them. Liujinshan, the "Glazed Golden Fan" and Jinshatan, the "Golden Sand Beach" and long limestone shoals, are still growing with the minerals brought by flowing water. Huanglong's most famous feature is its travertine pools, formed by calcium deposits. They are unique in all of Asia, and among the most spectacular in the world. Four criteria can be used to determine whether a natural site is eligible for inscription on the list: it represent stages of Earth's history; it represents geological processes, biological evolution or man's interaction with his natural environment; it has unique or rare natural features of exceptional natural beauty; or it is an important habitat for threatened species of plants and animals. Two existing natural sites were extended. The Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, one of the most famous wildlife sites on the List, is now larger by half. The addition brings the size of this giant park to over 19,000 square kilometers. On the other side of the world, in Alaska, the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve was inscribed as an extension of the existing Wrangell-St. Elias-Kluane site. Situated in southeast Alaska, the site includes more than 1,300 hectares of mountams, 20 glaciers, tundra and spruce forest. The Bay itself is a deep fjord of 105 kilometers, sometimes visited by humpback whales. ** EIGHT SITES ADDED TO THE LIST OF WORLD HERITAGE IN DANGER Seven threatened natural parks on UNESCO's World Heritage List were put on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the World Heritage Committee during its meeting. This measure aims at drawing attention to the situation in these sites, and to promote better measures of protection. The Committee underlined that this act is not a sanction but an early warning sign for the state parties concerned. # Srebarna Biosphere Reserve in Bulgaria may become the first site ever to be taken off the World Heritage List. For the time being, it has been put on the Danger List for closer monitoring. The wetland site in the Danube Delta has lost much of its natural values for which it was originally inscribed. Its status will be assessed by UNESCO, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Bureau of the RAMSAR Convention. If, by June 1993, they conclude that the ecosystem is damaged beyond restoring, Srebarna may be removed from the list. # Plitvice Lakes National Park, was inscribed at the request of Croatia. The park lies near Croatia's border with Serbia, and has been occupied by Serbian forces. The site is to be withdrawn from the Danger List as soon as the conflict in the former Yugoslavia is resolved. # Sangay National Park in Ecuador is suffering from heavy poaching of wildlife, illegal livestock grazing and encroachment, according to reports by the IUCN. # The Air-Tenere National Nature Reserve in Niger was inscribed in the Danger List at the request of the national government. The reserve suffers from the fighting between government forces of Niger and Mali and the Tuareg rebellion. # Mt. Nimba, on the border of Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire, is threatened by a large iron mining project on the Guinean side, and is under pressure from tens of thousands of refugees from Liberia. An integrated management plan for the park and its surroundings will be drawn up, and the limits of the World Heritage site will be clearly defined. # The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in India has suffered damage caused by the invasion of the Bodo tribe in Assam. The damage was estimated at 50 million Indian rupees (about 1.6 million US dollars). Fortunately, the habitat in the inaccessible sections of the park appeared to be intact. Angkor, which was added to the World Heritage List in December, was also placed on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger by the committee. The Cambodian authorities were requested to: ensure that adequate protective legislation is enacted; that a national protection agency is established; that permanent boundaries are established based on the Zoning and Environmental Management Plan (ZEMP) being implemented by UNESCO; that meaningful buffer zones, based on ZEMP, are defined; and that there will be monitoring and coordination of the international conservation effort. ================================================================ ** REMINDER All US/ICOMOS members attending the ICOMOS 10th General Assembly and Symposium, July 30 to August 4, 1993 in Sri Lanka are urged to contact Terry B. Morton, President, US/ICOMOS at tel: 202-842-1866 or fax: 202-842-1861. ================================================================= Published by US/ICOMOS and supported by the National Park Service, Office of Intcrnational Affairs, this newsletter features the World Heritage Convention, ratified first by the United States in 1972 and by a total of 131 countries since then. The World Heritage emblem symbolizes the interdependence of cultural and natural properties; the square represents form created by humanhnd and the circle represents nature, the two being intimately linked. For World Heritage information or additional newsletters: US/ICOMOS, 1600 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006; telephone 202/842-1866, facsimile 202/842-1861. =================================================================== .