The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed five new natural sites on the World Heritage List at the committee's 28th session, according to a press release issued by the committee here Wednesday night.

Following is a brief introduction of the five natural sites.

-- Ilulissat Icefjord of Denmark. Located on the west coast of Greenland, 250-km north of the Arctic Circle, Greenland's Ilulissat Icefjord (40,240-ha) is the sea mouth of Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea. Sermeq Kujalleq is one of the fastest (19-m per day) and most active glaciers in the world. Its annual calving of over 35 cubic kilometres of ice, i.e. 10% of the production of all Greenland calf ice and more than any other glacier outside Antarctica. Studied for over 250 years, it has helped develop our understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology. The combination of a huge ice-sheet and the dramatic sounds of a fast-moving glacial ice-stream calving into a fjord covered by icebergs makes for a dramatic and awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.

-- Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra of Indonesia. The 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site comprises three national parks: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The site holds the greatest potential for long term conservation of the distinctive and diverse biota of Sumatra, including many endangered species. The protected area is home to an estimated 10,000 plant species, including 17 endemic genera; more than 200 mammal species; and some 580 bird species of which 465 are resident and 21 are endemic. Of the mammal species, 22 are Asian, not found elsewhere in the archipelago and 15 are confined to the Indonesian region, including the endemic Sumatran orangutan. It also provides biogeographic evidence of the evolution of the island.

-- Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve Russian Federation of Russian Federation. Located well above the Arctic Circle, the site includes the mountainous Wrangel Island (7,608-km2), Herald Island (11-km2) and surrounding waters. Wrangel was not glaciated during the Quaternary Ice Age resulting in exceptionally high levels of biodiversity for this region. The island boasts the world's largest population of Pacific walrus and the highest density of ancestral polar bear dens. It is a major feeding ground for the gray whale migrating from Mexico and the northernmost nesting ground for 100 migratory bird species, many endangered. Currently, 417 species and sub-species of vascular plants have been identified on the island, double that of any other arctic tundra territory of comparable size and more than any other Arcticisland. Some species are derivative of widespread continental forms, others are the result of recent hybridization, 23 are endemic.

-- Pitons Management Area of Saint Lucia. The 2,909-ha site near the town of Soufriere, includes the Pitons, two volcanic spires rising side by side from the sea (770-m and 743-m high respectively), linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. Coral reefs cover almost 60% of the site's marine area. A survey has revealed 168 species of finfish, 60 species of cnidaria, including corals, eight molluscs, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and eight annelid worms. Hawksbill turtles are seen inshore, whale sharks and pilot whales offshore. The dominant terrestrial vegetation is tropical moist forest grading to subtropical wet forest with small areas of dry forest and wet elfin woodland on the summits. At least 148 plant species have been recorded on Gros Piton, 97 on Petit Piton and the intervening ridge, among them eight rare tree species. The Gros Piton is home to some 27 bird species (five of them endemic), three indigenous rodents, one opossum, three bats, eight reptiles and three amphibians.

-- Cape Floral Region of South Africa. A serial site -- in Cape Province, South Africa -- made up of eight protected areas, covering 553,000-ha. The Cape Floral Region is one of the richest areas for plants in the world. It represents less than 0.5% of the area of Africa but is home to nearly 20% of the continent's flora. The site displays outstanding ecological and biological processes associated with the Fynbos vegetation, which is unique to the CapeFloral Region. The outstanding diversity, density and endemism of the flora are among the highest worldwide. Unique plant reproductive strategies, adaptive to fire, patterns of seed dispersal by insects, as well as patterns of endemism and adaptive radiation found in the flora are of outstanding value to science.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2004)