Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Nepal to lobby to keep Kathmandu on heritage site list

Nepal is set to lobby for maintaining the world heritage site status of Kathmandu valley, after the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee proposed to list the valley as ‘World Heritage in Danger’. The authorities will make a presentation at the WHC’s 43rd session to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 30 to July 10.
The WHC had listed Kathmandu valley as ‘property proposed for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger’. But once a site got formally listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’, it would be difficult to regain its previous status, and chances of getting it removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage Site would increase, according to the Department of Archaeology.
The department has prepared a comprehensive report to lobby for removing Kathmandu valley from proposed ‘World Heritage in Danger.’
This is not the first time that WHC has proposed to list Kathmandu valley as ‘World Heritage in Danger.’ Kathmandu valley had been in the proposed list after the 2015 devastating earthquake for the reason that ‘Nepal may not rebuild the heritage destroyed by the earthquake.’
But the department is confident that the committee will vote in Nepal’s favour after hearing the success story of rebuilding the heritage sites, into their original forms by complying with the standard archaeological principals. The decision made by majority – out of the representatives of 21 WHC member countries taking part in the conference – will be final regarding enlisting sites as ‘World Heritage in Danger.’
A team led by secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohan Krishna Sapkota and Department of Archaeology chief will participate the WHC’s forty-third session in Baku.

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