Cape Verde, China and others get new World Heritage sites

Science News

Jun 27, 2009, 16:13 GMT

Seville, Spain - Sites in Cape Verde, China, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, the United Nations organization said Friday. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage list contains around 880 sites from 146 countries, and is currently under review at a 21-member conference in Seville, Spain. The World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion of the historic town centre of Cidade Velha, formerly known as Ribeira Grande, in the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa. The 15th century site, which bears testimony to the history of slavery and European colonial presence, is Cape Verde's first World Heritage treasure. The committee also approved China's sacred Buddhist Mount Wutai, the cultural landscape of which includes more than 50 monasteries. Temples were built between the 1st century AD and the early 20th century on the site, which has life-size clay sculptures and 500 statues representing Buddhist stories. New sites on the list also included the Wadden Sea, a wetland straddling Germany and the Netherlands. The Wadden Sea is the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is a breeding and wintering ground for up to 12 million birds annually. The Wadden Sea was taken on the UNESCO list following the World Heritage Committee's decision to drop another German site, the Dresden Elbe Valley, because of the construction of a steel highway bridge in the heart of the landscape. The river valley was the second site to be taken off the list, following the removal of an antelope sanctuary in Oman in 2007. The Dolomites Mountains in northern Italy were added to the list as 'some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere,' UNESCO said. The mountains also have geologically important limestone formations and an important fossil record. The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in the Philippines, which has been on the World Heritage list since 1993, was extended from 33,000 to 97,000 hectares. The national park has a high diversity of marine life. Some two dozen new sites were seeking UNESCO recognition in Seville. The World Heritage list contains cultural, natural and mixed sites. Being on the list helps the sites get conservation funds and boosts tourism. The nine-day meeting was scheduled to conclude on Tuesday.