24 more sites of “outstanding universal value” have been
designated world heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These include the ancient Iraqi city
of Ashur and Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley, where towering statues
of Buddha (see picture right) were destroyed by the former Taleban regime.
The first eight of the new UNESCO heritage sites are as follows:
· Purnululu National Park, Australia: Located in the state
of Western Australia, it covers an expanse of nearly 250,000 hectares.
The park's Bungle Bungle Range contains sandstone eroded into the
shape of beehives over 20 million years.
· Three parallel rivers of Yunnan protected areas, China:
A 1.7 million hectare site in Yunnan province, containing parts of three
of the great rivers of Asia: the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween. The rivers
run parallel through steep gorges, from 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) to
6,000 metres high.
· Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland: A wooded mountain shaped
like a pyramid. Contains some of the best fossil records of marine life
from about 250 million years ago.
· Uvs Nuur Basin, Russian Federation/Mongolia: About a
million hectares. Contains a rich diversity of birds and is home to the
gerbil, jerboas, the marbled polecat, snow leopard, mountain sheep and
the Asiatic Ibex.
· Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam: A dramatic,
forested highland which includes underground caves and rivers and is mainly
covered by tropical rainforest.
· Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan: Previously home to two
colossal statues of Buddha, which were blown up by the Taleban in February
2001, provoking worldwide condemnation. UNESCO says the choice “symbolises
the hope of the international community that extreme acts of intolerance,
such as the deliberate destruction of the Buddhas, are never repeated
again”.
· Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina: A major trade route
over the past 10,000 years. Shows traces of the Inca Empire (15th to 16th
Century) and of the fight for independence in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
· Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso, Chile:
An interesting example of late 19th Century urban and architectural development
in Latin America.
Source: BBC News