Western Ghats proposed as heritage site

If UNESCO votes in favour of the Western Ghats while deciding on new
World Heritage Sites in 2010, Kerala will have something to cheer
about. The natural heritage sites of the State, namely the Eravikulam
National Park and adjoining areas, including some Shola forests,
Mathikettan and adjoining reserve forest, the Periyar region,
including Ranni and Konni forest divisions, and the Silent Valley and
neighbouring areas, are there on the tentative list submitted by India
for consideration. No site from Kerala has so far been included on the
World Heritage Site list, though the Mattancherry Palace was proposed
by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1998 for inclusion under the
cultural category.
Tentative list
The tentative list, according to UNESCO, is an inventory of those
properties which each country intends to consider for nomination. The
"States Parties are encouraged to submit in their Tentative Lists,
properties which they consider to be cultural and/or natural heritage
of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription
on the World Heritage List." Nominations to the list will not be
considered unless the nominated property has already been included on
the tentative list, according to UNESCO. "The nominations made by the
country, including that of the Western Ghats, will come up for
consideration during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee to be
held during early next year," says Jagadish Krishnaswami, a fellow at
the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE).
The proposal for the Western Ghats was first submitted in 2006. Later,
the State governments were asked to prepare detailed dossiers for each
site. ATREE was one of the agencies that supported the Union Ministry
for Environment and Forest, the Wildlife Institute of India and many
State governments in preparing the dossiers for nomination of various
sites.The list was updated last year. The State government submitted
its proposal for including the Western Ghats on the list, he said.
Once a site is declared a World Heritage Site, it will get global
attention and more funds for management. It will make the governments
more committed to the protection of the sites, Mr. Krishnaswami said.
Currently, 27 sites from the country are on the list, including the
Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort, the Ajanta caves and the Kaziranga and
Keladeo national parks.

The Hindu, June 27