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In cooperation with Lihla Noori from the RMI Environmental
Protection Authority, the Alele Museum submitted a request
for preparatory assistance to the UNESCO World Heritage
Office in Paris late last month.
This is the first step to prepare a so-called ‘tentative
list’ of sites in the RMI that may qualify for World
Heritage status.
Worldwide, 788 sites have been registered by UNESCO as
World Heritage sites.
Most of these properties are of cultural importance, said
a release from the Alele Museum. But in recent years more
and more sites of natural significance have been nominated.
The only World Heritage site in the Pacific region is a
natural site. It is a part of the raised coral atoll East
Rennal in the Solomon Islands, which is renowned for its big
inland lake and considered a stepping stone in the migration
and evolution of species in the western Pacific.
With financial and administrative assistance of the World
Heritage Office, the public in the Marshall Islands will be
informed about UNESCO’s World Heritage program.
Interested local people, together with cultural and
biological experts will explore possible sites in the RMI,
will prepare the ‘tentative list,’ and will discuss the next
steps to get the Marshall Islands on the map of World
Heritage, according to the Alele. |
