Sites compete for UNESCO status
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Thirty natural and cultural sites will seek to become a UNESCO World Heritage treasure this week, when the UN committee meets in Seville to decide on new entries to the list that now has 878 sites from 145 countries.
According to an AFP report, three countries are hoping to join the list for the first time – Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Kyrgyzstan. Experts will decide whether Burkina Faso’s Loropeni Ruins, the remains of a fortified village, are ‘works of outstanding universal value’ along with the historic town centre of Ribeira Grande in Cape Verde, and Kyrgyzstan’s Sulaiman-Too Mountain in the Ferghana Valley.
China has two entries this year, Mount Wutai in Shanxi, one of the four mountains considered sacred in Chinese Buddhism, and the historical monuments of Mount Songshan, a revered site of Taoism, in Henan province. South Korea is asking for world heritage status for the Cretaceous Dinosaur Coast, and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.
UNESCO hands out some US$4 million every year for conservation projects and encourages technical cooperation between countries to help preserve heritage sites. The special status also provides a boost for tourism. The World Heritage Committee meeting lasts until 30 June.
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