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Maohi Chief to Chair World Heritage Committee |
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Monday, 17 July 2006 |
Native Maori and paramount chief of New Zealand, Tumu Te Heuheu, has been elected chairman of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. The director of the World Heritage Center, Francesco Bandarin, says Mr Te Heuheu will hold the post for one year. "It is the first time a person representing an indigenous population has been elected to chair the Committee and we believe this will add considerably to the work of the Committee," he said.
Mr Bandarin also says the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, will be held in New Zealand, in the hopes of increasing the presence of World Heritage-listed sites in the region. "It is the second time the session will be held in the Pacific region and it is very important for the region, which is highly under-represented on the World Heritage List, with only a few sites on it," he said.
The World Heritage Committee was established in 1972 and is the main United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Ogranisation (UNESCO) body responsible for the conservation and preservation of natural and cultural sites on the prestigious World Heritage List.
Eighteen new sites have been added to the list, including locations in Africa, Europe and South America, bringing the list to 830 sites.
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