Sunday 23 June 2013

Five new sites declared as ‘World Heritage’ – Namibia, China, Tajikistan, Italy & Mexico

June 2013. Namib Sand Sea in Namibia, Xinjiang Tianshan in China, Tajik National Park in Tajikistan, Mount Etna in Italy, and El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, have been declared World Heritage sites, following the expert recommendations of IUCN. 

Mount Kenya & Lewa Conservancy
In addition, the World Heritage Committee approved the extension of Mount Kenya National Park to include the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve, also recommended by IUCN.

Deserts, Mountains & Volcanos 
"From vast deserts in Namibia and Mexico to high mountain ranges in China and Tajikistan and a volcano in Italy, the new World Heritage Sites are a celebration of the beauty of nature and our joint commitment to conserve it for generations to come," says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN World Heritage Programme. "We congratulate the States Parties for their hard work to make this possible and the World Heritage Committee for applying the high standards that it has set itself." 

The Namib Sand Sea - a unique coastal fog desert with a diverse range of large, shifting dunes - is a place of outstanding natural beauty where atmospheric conditions provide exceptional visibility of the landscape by day and the dazzling southern hemisphere sky at night. It has been long identified as one of the main gaps on the List and is the first site in ten years to be inscribed under all natural World Heritage criteria. 


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