More sites to World Heritage List

Paris, Jul 7: United Nations World Heritage Committee is going to enlarge the World Heritage List by adding new sites.

The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee will see presentation of properties by 35 states parties to the World Heritage Convention.

UNESCO's World Heritage List recognizes 890 properties of 'outstanding universal value' which include 689 cultural, 176 natural and 25 mixed properties in 148 countries.

Each World Heritage Site is the property of the state on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.

The World Heritage Committee will consider inscribing new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when states parties meet Sunday, Jul 25 - Tuesday, Aug 3 in Brazil.

Each year, the committee adds new sites to the list and examines the state of conservation of inscribed properties. It also supervises the disbursement of over $4 million annually from the World Heritage Fund.

Until the end of 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so that there is only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of 'outstanding universal value' and meet at least one of the ten criteria.

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