China's Ministry of Construction published yesterday the
country's first natural heritage lists in a bid to increase
awareness of the need to protect its unspoiled wild
spaces.?
Included in the lists are natural sites, and sites of both
natural and cultural importance.
The first batch of 30 sites was unveiled yesterday in
Beijing.
From these lists, candidates for World Heritage Listing will be
selected, according to Chen Xiaoli, a senior ministry official.
The ministry hopes that the lists will encourage site managers
to take more care with the locations and learn the international
rules of world heritage management.
"Managers of listed sites are required to deliver annual
inspection reports to local construction administrations. Those who
fail to take adequate protection measures will have their sites
removed from the list," said Wang Fengwu, another senior ministry
official.
In another development, two sites will be put up for nomination
for UNESCO World Heritage Listing at the 30th Session of the World
Heritage Committee in Lithuania on Saturday.
They are the Yin Ruins in central China's Henan Province, which once formed the capital
of the Shang Dynasty empire 3,300 years ago. Ancient bones with
inscriptions and the world's largest bronze vessel, the Simuwu
Square Vessel, were unearthed there. The other nominee is land
inhabited by giant pandas in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
China currently has 31 sites included on the World Heritage List,
and is ranked third in the world in terms of the number of World
Heritage sites behind Spain and Italy respectively.
(China Daily July 6, 2006)