But Where's George?

Mount Vernon is known, by nearly every American, as the home of our first president and Founding Father, George Washington. But this fact may be the very reason Mount Vernon faces a challenge being accepted as a World Heritage site. As quoted from the Washington Post, "a group advising the U.S. government on getting American sites onto the prestigious list initially rejected Mount Vernon because of the George factor." To learn just what this challenge means for Mount Vernon and how it may overcome it, continue reading: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/03/AR2009070301570.html

U.S. Cultural Preservation Awards for 2009

As this memo from the U.S. Department of State outlines, the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation will be supporting projects at eight World Heritage sites. The AFCP was established by Congress in 2001 to "provide direct grant support for the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects and collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression in countries around the world." Since its establishment, the AFCP has supported more than 500 cultural preservation projects. Read the memo to find out the newest sites AFCP is supporting: http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2009/June/20090625173410eaifas0.7132532.html#ixzz0Ks6aYFJG&C

U.S. to grant financial support to restore world heritage site in Nepal

As reported in China View, "The United States Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), 2009, will offer financial support for the restoration of the intricately carved stone sculpture of Tusha Hiti and the Bhandarkhal Tank at the Patan Royal Palace in Nepali capital Kathmandu." The Kathmandu Valley became a World Heritage site in 1979, containing seven groups of monuments and buildings that illustrate the Nepali culture.

Keep reading: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/27/content_11610527.htm06/27/content_11610527.htm

A new plan for Panama's Coiba National Park and World Heritage site

Panama's Coiba Island became a National Park in 2004, and a year later, a World Heritage site. As the largest island along the Pacific coast of Central America, Coiba is home to endemic animal and plant species. After three years of planning to make the park a more effective protected area, Juan Maté, coordinator of marine technical agreements at the Smithsonian, with the support of UNESCO, presented the new management plan for the National Park on June 23rd.

Full Article:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/stri-anp062609.php

How Many WH Sites are enough?

In this article, "Everyone Wins a Prize", the Sydney Morning Herald reports on the growing number of World Heritage Sites which could reach 1,000 within the next couple of years. How many are enough?

Click here to find out.

Treasures Without Tourists

To see some of the most spectacular spots on earth before the tour buses arrive, visit the sites being considered for World Heritage designation. Three gems in China's Yunnan province. Click on this link for more information.

Ireland's New World Heritage Tentative List

The Irish Times [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0420/1224245022487.html] reports that Ireland's government has submitted a new roster of candidate properties it intends to nominate to the UNESCO World Heritage List in the coming years. The new tentative list supersedes the first such Irish list which included 10 properties that were submitted the World Heritage Committee in 1992, a year after joining the World Heritage Convention. Two properties from the earlier list were successfully inscribed as World Heritage Sites.
The World Heritage Committee's Operational Guidelines require countries to revise their tentative lists at least once every 10 years. In 2008, the
United States concluded a 2-year effort to develop its new tentative list of 14 candidate properties [http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/TL_List.doc].

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, in Collinsville, Illinois, is located on the Mississippi River floodplain, across from St. Louis.

This site was first inhabited by Indians of the Late Woodland Culture about AD 700.

It became a World Heritage Site in 1982.

According to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Saturday, April 18, 2009 is the International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day. Observed every April 18th since 2001, the theme of World Heritage Day 2009 is “Heritage and Science.” ICOMOS intends for the day to raise public awareness concerning the diversity of the world’s heritage and the efforts required to protect and conserve them, as well as to draw attention to their vulnerability. ICOMOS members and committees are holding a variety of activities, conferences and other events.

For more information, click here: Icomos World Heritage Day.

Information on activities in the United Kingdom can be found here.

Jeju Rejoices in UNESCO World Heritage Listing

Friday marks the first anniversary since the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes became the first in Korea to be named to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Thanks to the international media attention it has received since last year, Jeju Island is enjoying publicity beyond its expectations. Detailed descriptions of the island are listed on the maps, magazines and the homepage of UNESCO, and leading global networks such as the BBC, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Asahi Shimbun, and Al Jazeera have introduced Jeju's heritage to their viewers. And officials from around the world come to Jeju to learn how it managed to get listed on the UNESCO Natural Heritage List. Officials from the Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in Japan, who are trying to get Mt. Fuji listed, visited Jeju last month. Officials from the Japanese city of Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, a sister city of Seogwipo, the second largest city on the island, came for the same reason.

The listing has changed the tourism trend. Although the growth rate in the number of tourists to the entire island remains at 6-7 percent, the number of travelers to the three heritage zones -- Mt. Hallasan, Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone, and the Geomunoreum Lava Tubes -- is rising by 13 to 30 percent. The number of foreign travelers also rose by 52.5 percent from 81,779 May last year to 124,770 this May. There are three big categories in the UNESCO heritage listing -- World Heritage (Natural, Cultural, and Mixed), Biosphere Reserves, and World Geopark. Prior to being named as UNESCO World Natural Heritage, Jeju had Mt. Hallasan and the Seogwipo coastal area designated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Dec. 2002. Now, it is aiming to win all three honors by becoming a World Geopark too. Being included in the global network of geoparks will put the island to be on par with the world's most famous destinations. The Jeju provincial government already formed a taskforce team last year involving experts from various fields and is currently selecting candidate areas for the geopark. To be a UNESCO World Geopark, the region must not only be beautiful but also have high geological, biological, archeological, historical, and cultural values. There are currently over 50 geoparks around the world, including the Petrified Forest in Yunnan Province, China.