A total of 34 new world heritage sites were added to the 44th World Heritage Conference
Xinhua News Agency, Fuzhou, July 31st (Reporters Tai Xiaoan and Zhao Xuetong) The 44th World Heritage Conference successfully concluded in Fuzhou on the evening of the 31st.
As an extended conference, this World Heritage Conference, UNESCO, will consider world heritage issues online for the first time. The conference has added 34 world heritage sites and 3 projects have been included in the conference to achieve major expansion.
This conference unanimously adopted the "Fuzhou Declaration."
The Declaration reaffirms the principles of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the importance of international cooperation in the protection of world heritage. It echoes the great concern of the General Assembly on the far-reaching impact of climate change on the sustainable development of world heritage, and emphasizes that the protection of world heritage is the common cause of all mankind. It calls for increasing support for developing countries, especially Africa and small island developing States, and leave to future generations an open, inclusive, self-adjustable, sustainable, resilient, clean and beautiful world.
The conference reviewed 36 nominations for new heritage, 34 of which were approved for inclusion in the World Heritage List.
Among them, "Quanzhou: China's World Ocean Trade Center in Song and Yuan Dynasties" has become China's 56th World Heritage Site, and Chongqing Wulipo National Nature Reserve has officially become a part of the World Natural Heritage "Hubei Shennongjia".
In addition, 3 have been included in the project to achieve major expansion.
"We are pleased to see that two new world heritage sites have been added to African countries, and the'Africa Priority' global issues have been concretely implemented. Although we can only gather together in the cloud, we can still share the joy of the success of the contracting states through the screen." Deputy Minister of Education, Tian Xuejun, director of the National Committee of China's UNESCO National Committee and chairman of the 44th World Heritage Conference, said that at this conference, the newly added world heritage sites in developed and developing countries are roughly balanced, and cross-border joint declarations and series of heritage types have achieved growth.
The conference also reviewed more than 200 world heritage protection status reports. Three heritage protection statuses including the Great Wall of China, Côte d’Ivoire’s Tai National Park and Comoe National Park have become examples of world heritage protection management; Longa National Park was removed from the "List of World Heritage in Danger"; the British "Liverpool Maritime Mall" became the first World Heritage site to be delisted in the past 10 years.
Significant progress has also been made in the reform of the application for this session. Starting in September 2023, a pre-evaluation mechanism will be launched to allow the Heritage Assembly to strengthen communication with the evaluation agency in the early stages of the application.
"The protection of the world heritage will embark on a new voyage from Fuzhou. I believe that the consensus and cohesive strength reached in the'Fuzhou' can promote our common lofty cause to be stable and far-reaching." Tian Xuejun said.