Culture Minister tightens bidding process for UK World Heritage Sites

The government has tightened the selection process for potential UK World Heritage Sites in a bid to find "sure-fire winners" from a "more focused" shortlist.

A smaller Tentative List of locations will be put forward to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the first time since 1999, with an independent panel judging nominations from local authorities.

"Being designated as a World Heritage Site is a real honour and a rare privilege," said Culture Minister Margaret Hodge, citing the social, economic and tourism benefits of the scheme.

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International cooperation helping restore fisher population in Olympic National Park

In a projecting highlighting international cooperation between the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park, twelve fishers were released yesterday in Olympic National Park, continuing a three-year effort to reintroduce the animal to Washington State. About the size of a cat, fishers are members of the weasel family, and are native to the forests of Washington, including the Olympic Peninsula. The species vanished from the state decades ago because of over-trapping in the late 1800s and early 1900s and habitat loss and fragmentation.

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International Team Says Mining In Canadian Flathead Would Harm Glacier

An international team of scientists has concluded that mining in the "Canadian Flathead" north of Glacier National Park would harm both Glacier and the adjoining Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada.

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Climbing on Uluru

Tourists will be able to climb the World Heritage-listed Uluru for at least 18 months after the Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, backed away from a move to ban it.
Mr Garrett, who as a rock singer for the band Midnight Oil sang about land rights at the base of rock 20 years ago, supported the view of Aboriginal traditional owners who regard it as a sacred site and wanted climbing banned.
There were also concerns that some of the 100,000 tourists who climb the rock each year were defecating on it.
But under a new 10-year management plan announced by Mr Garrett yesterday, the 348-metre rock will remain open to climbers until its popularity dwindles or new visitor experiences are developed.

For more information, see this link.

UK defers the World Heritage proposal for the twin Anglo-Saxon monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow.

The decision by authorities in the United Kingdom to postpone the submission of a World Heritage nomination for the site from 2010 to 2011emphasizes how important it is ensure that the strongest possible case be made to justify the international significance of a site when it is put forward to the World Heritage Committee. Given the increasing rigor to which nomination documents are subjected, governments have made them much more elaborate and thorough than in the past.

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U.S. House condemns illegal logging, decimation of wildlife in Madagascar

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Resolution today that condemns the unchecked illegal logging and decimation of Madagascar's endemic species, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), author of the resolution, said in a statement published on his Web site.
"The House is sending a firm signal that the devastating and illegal destruction of Madagascar's natural resources will not be tolerated," Blumenauer said. "Illegal logging not only does irreparable harm to the environment, but it destroys livelihoods.

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World Heritage sites want your input

By Laura Bly, USA TODAY

TripAdvisor is launching a new partnership with UNESCO to solicit opinions and feedback on nearly 900 World Heritage sites across the globe.

Many of UNESCO's World Heritage designations — Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park, and Venice, Italy, among them are no strangers to visitor scrutiny. But others, from Southern Illinois Cahokia Mounds archaeological site to Australia's Lord Howe Island Group, aren't as well-known. Using customized review forms, travelers can submit comments on the condition of the sites and find out more on how to protect them.

Click here to see the Travel Advisor announcement.

Mt. Kilimanjaro Ice Cap Continues Rapid Retreat

Researchers studying the mountaintop, including those involved in this study, differ in their conclusions on how much of the melting could result from human activity or other climatological influences. Click here for more information.

World Heritage Status: Is There Opportunity for Economic Gain?

The Lake District, England's largest national park, commissioned a study to determine the economic impact of World Heritage status, as part of their effort to secure World Heritage designation for the park. Given a previous cost/benefit analysis developed in the United Kingdom by Price Watershouse Coopers consultants which highlighted the high cost of preparing a nomination dossier. The Lake District study is a further attempt to examine the benefits of World Heritage inscription. The study finds, among several interesting conclusions, that "attributing socio-economic impacts to the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation is complex and difficult. It is rarely the designation itself which achieves the impacts, and more normally the actions and investments of the local stakeholders." To see the complete study, click here.

Manitoba puts $10 Million into Trust Fund for UNESCO

With four days remaining in his decade-long reign, outgoing Manitoba Premier Gary Doer made a significant contribution toward his legacy yesterday, pledging $10-million to help preserve a swath of boreal forest as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Click here for the news report.

Taos Pueblo Included on World Monuments Fund 2010 Watch List of Endangered Sites

Bonnie Burnham, President of the World Monuments Fund (WMF), today announced the 2010 World Monuments Watch. For more than 40 years, WMF, a nonprofit organization, has worked to preserve cultural heritage across the globe. The 2010 Watch includes 93 sites now at risk, representing 47 countries. These include 9 sites from the United States and 15 dating from the 20th century. The Watch is WMF’s flagship advocacy program, and it calls international attention to threatened cultural heritage. One of the sites on the new Watch List is Taos Pueblo.Surrounded by growing region, Taos Pueblo, the only US World Heritage Site, designated for the significance of its living culture faces a variety of threats.
For more information on Taos, see: http://www.wmf.org/project/taos-pueblo

U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Awards Support for Major Projects at Sites in Peru, Nepal, and Macedonia

The conservation of the Sacred City of Caral in the Supe Valley of Peru is one of three large-scale partnership-based cultural heritage preservation projects to receive financial support from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) in 2009.

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U.N. scientists assess mining threats to Glacier National Park

WEST GLACIER - A team of scientists from the United Nations is visiting Glacier National Park, assessing potential threats posed by mining plans in Canadian wildlands upstream of the park. Click here to find out more.

The limits of soft cultural power

Guarding precious and vulnerable places is one of the better things the UN’s cultural agency does—but it may topple over if it stretches too far. To read the whole article, click here.

Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report

The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009 was provided to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts on 30 June 2009 and subsequently tabled in the Australian Parliament.
The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009 is a summary of the past and present condition of the environmental, economic and social values of the Great Barrier Reef and presents its possible future. Click here for more information.