Happy New Year! These are my suggestions for Philippines Top 50 missing, not including active nominations (Batanes and Mt. Hamiguitan):

cultural sites:
Butuan Archeological Sites - large boats called balangay reaffirms Maritime Southeast Asian (and Pacific) history
Kabayan mummies of the Ibaloi tribe are the only mummies using fire for the mummification process
Maranao settlement in Tugaya - every household in this community participates and specializes in an artform distinctly Maranao. A plus: Darangen Epic of the Maranao People is listed as one of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

natural sites:
Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park - of the Mindoro biogeographic zone, lots of endemic species
Coron - a mixed site, biodiversity hotspot, and managed by Tagbanua indigenous people
Northern Sierra Madre National Park - largest protected area in the country

Summary (So Far....I think I included everything)
- NOT including previous Top 50

We are at a total of 50 suggestions for Top 50 Missing! Probably with a couple more suggestions left. The question for Els (and Solivagant) is should we develop a Top 100 (adding these sites with the original? Or should we keep and shape a more complete Top 50, in which we would collectively select the (3) most deserving sites to replace the 3 inscribed properties? Then discuss which sites from the original Top 50 should (or should not) be replaced? Thoughts? I am leaning toward the later; creating a really complete and exceptional Top 50 Missing would be a great addition to the website.

27 Tentative Sites (Candidate for Top 50 Missing)

Afghanistan - City of Herat (17/08/2004)
Botswana - Okavango Delta (27/05/2010)
China (Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan) - Silk Roads (28/03/2008)
China - The Grand Canal (28/03/2008)
Egypt - Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (28/07/2003)
France, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, USA (Hawaii) - Rainforests of Polynesia (Transnational) 2/5 components on Tentative List
France - La Grotte ornée Chauvet-Pont d'Arc (29/06/2007)
Iraq - The Sacred Complex of Babylon (29/10/2003)
Israel - Triple-arch Gate at Dan & Sources of the Jordan (30/06/2000)
Italy - Scrovegni's Chapel (01/06/2006)
Laos - Sites Mégalithiques de la province de Xieng Khouang (25/03/1992)
Lebanon - Ensemble du site naturel de la région du Chouf avec les monuments et les sites archéologiques qui s'y trouvent (01/07/1996)
Myanmar - Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period: Ohn Don, Sala, Pakhangyi, Pakhannge, Legaing, Sagu, Shwe-Kyaung (Mandalay) (04/10/1996)
Nigeria - Benin Iya / Sungbo' s Eredo (01/11/1995)
Papua New Guinea - The Sublime Karsts of Papua New Guinea (06/06/2006)
Papua New Guinea (Indonesia) - Rainforests of Papua, Extension of Upper Sepik River Basin (06/06/2006)
Peru (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador) - Sistema Vial Andino/Qhapaq Ñan (13/08/2010)
Philippines - Butuan Archeological Sites (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Coron Island Natural Biotic Area (16/05/2006)
Philippines - El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and outlying areas inclusive of the buffer zone (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves (16/05/2006)
Philippines - The Maranao Settlement of Tugaya (16/05/2006)
South Korea - Southwestern Coast Tidal Flats (11/01/2010)
Syria - Ebla (Tell Mardikh) (08/06/1999)
United States - Petrified Forest National Park (30/01/2008)

23 New Suggestions (Not on Tentative List) (Candidate for Top 50 Missing)

Australia - Cape York
Croatia - Spomeniks in the Former Yugoslavia
France - Drift Passes of Rangiroa, French Polynesia
France - Forests of Southern New Caledonia
India - Chhatris (cenotaphs) of Orchha
Germany - Tempelhof Airport, Berlin
Laos - Si Phan Don Complex
Mexico - Cave of the Crystals
Myanmar (Thailand) - Mergui Archipelago and Andaman Coast
Peru - Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol
Russia - Soviet Architecture
Serbia - Synagogue of Subotica
Spain - Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Frank Gehry
Somalia - Laas Gaal
United Kingdom - Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge
United Kingdom - Windsor Castle
United States - Mount Rushmore
United States - Chicago School of Architecture
United States - Golden Gate Bridge
United States - Hollywood Studios & Movie Palaces
United States - Ford River Rouge Complex
United States - Agricultural Landscape of the Midwest
United States - Death Valley National Park

Pacific- 13
Europe - 10
Asia - 9
North America - 8
Arab States - 5
Latin America - 3
Africa - 2
Caribbean - 0

Cultural: 32
Natural: 14
Mixed: 4

Original Top 50 Missing A-M URL N-Z URL

Jonathanf (Extended List) URL

Assif (Extended List) URL

Kkanekhan (Extended List) URL

Top 50 Missing Participation

We already have 16 individuals proposing sites.

Assif (Israel)
Bojboj (Philippines)
Clyde (Malta)
Durian (????)
Els (Netherlands)
Euloroo (Australia)
Evilweevil (Austria)
Hubert (Austria)
Jonathanf (France)
Khuft (Germany)
Kkanekahn (India)
KSTraveler (US)
Meltwaterfalls (UK)
Solivagant (UK)
Vantcj1 (Costa Rica)
Winterkjm (US)

Active members that may suggest nominations:
Alexlove74, JonasK, Joycevs, Kanfil, Kintante, Paul

Solivagant has been part of the conversation, but I just realized he never submitted 3 favorite sites? Any to add? Or have the most deserving already been covered? Concerning Kkanekhn, have you had the chance to select your top 3 favorites to add? I can't add all 16 (though all look great). Other members feel free to comment if you feel any of Kkanekhn's suggestions deserve a spot on the Top 50 missing.

So far we have suggested very little sites from Latin America & Caribbean. I was trying to think of gap-fillers or under-represented countries that might deserve Top 50 Missing consideration. Any thoughts?

Belize - Pre-Columbian Cities of Caracol & Xunantunich
El Salvador - Lake Guija (21/09/1992)
Guyana - Kaieteur National Park, Iwokrama Forest and the Kanuku Mountains URL *Scroll down to world heritage status
Nicaragua - The Natural Reserve "Bosawas" (19/06/1995)
Puerto Rico - Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site

I'm from Malta bdw!

My third suggestion Rainforests of Papua (PNG, Indonesia) was not included. Half of it is on the T list (the PNG side).


My suggestion involves Samoa, not American Samoa.

I know these are the areas assigned by Unesco. Nonetheless, I consider it helpful to at least further divide between Europe and North America as well as Asia and the Pacific. In these two instances there is an internal bias. Europe is well (over)represented whereas North America is underrepresented. Asia is well represented whereas the Pacific is underrepresented. In our suggestions we address this bias as many proposals are from the Pacific and North America and few are from Asia and Europe.

In my proposal for filling up the gaps, from 84 gap fillers there are 17 sites in Latin America. Latin American sites should definitely be better represented!

Ok, I think I made the necessary corrections. I divided the regions more accurately. I also updated your suggestion. I think I now understand your PNG suggestion, the tentative site is part of the original Top 50 missing, but you are suggesting a much larger nomination, correct? Essentially an extension.

I think it might be worth considering further nominations for Latin America. Maybe we can propose a couple sites, and members of the forum can 2nd the most deserving properties for the Top 50 missing, no? So we are not just adding individual favorites to automatically be added, without group support. Since most of us have put forward 3 favorites, as Els originally outlined.

Thanks for the corrections winterkjm. Yes, you are right about Papua.
I see you counted French Polynesia and New Caledonia under Europe. I wouldn't do so. These are certainly Pacific territories (although partially under European juristiction).
I don't know how Els or the other forum members wish to pursue the 50 missing list. I agree some sort of a vote is necessary, but I have got absolutely no idea as to how it should be arranged.

Well, Els is in Mexico. I will defer to her when it comes to the actual voting. Perhaps by the time she returns, all suggestions by members, and missing gaps will be addressed. Then she can decide where to go from there.

By that time I assume our list will be between 50-75 suggestions. There are currently 3 open spaces in the original Top 50 missing. Furthermore, I think it is certain that 8-12 sites on the original Top 50 missing are probably not Top 50 missing. We can discuss replacing these sites in the near future. So ultimately, of our suggestions here, realistically only 8-20 will possibly make it on the final Top 50 missing. The left over suggestions here can become an informal inventory to consider whenever we update the Top 50 missing later on. We should also consider the sites that will be (very likely) inscribed in 2014, should we include these deserving sites on the final Top 50 missing list?

As Solivagant mentions, our inventory developed here is imperfect. Nevertheless, I think the overall point is to update the original Top 50 missing. Since only a small fraction of the suggestions here will be included in the "agreed" Top 50 missing, I feel confident that our efforts will result in a more complete (interesting) list.

Re my "failure" to comment/nominate 3
We are on the road at the moment so not much time to think and iPod a bit awkward for typing etc. We were at the "Triple arch gate of Dan" yesterday - remove it from Top 50 missing thoughts!!!

My views are
a Stick to top 50 - then look at this which have been excluded. I would still prefer to maintain 2 or 3 lists - agreed "top 50" - which may not be 50 for some tone plus those nominated/excluded
b I don't wish to add any more
c I fear that "national pride" has added too many of the recent additions. I accept that national knowledge can be important but only "so far"!!
d There is a difference between "Top 50 missing in order to create a balanced/complete list" and "top 50 missing (irrespective of balance)". I personally don't see "balance" as being more important than the highest OUV so wouldn't include any simply because they are from an under represented country, region or ecological niche.
e rather a lot of the nominations are for the next 2 years WHC!!
f For what it is worth my list of 3 (without the full list in front of me) would be Soviet architecture (eg Moscow metro ), Mexican crystal caves, Bhutanese Dzongs

Great progress in the past few days. Thanks to winterkjm for his continuous updates and for motivating the forum members.


I agree. I think we are discussing two different approaches that are difficult to combine: a "Top-50-list" and a "Filling-the-gap-list". Both would be wonderful additions to this website. So, why not doing both separately?
i. a "top" list based on the original Top 50 (or Top 47) without limitation in terms of regional or thematic imbalances
ii. a "filling-the-gap" list based on the list provided by Assif.

Some thoughts / suggestions:
- Top-list: I suppose there are more sites that are worth to be added than sites that can be removed. Thus, I would prefer not to limit the list to 50 or any other number. If we end somewhere between 50 and 100, why not? Our list should be an "ongoing process": Hopefully it shrinks because sites get an inscription. But also our views of a site may change due to a visit or because OUV / integrity / authenticity are impaired for any reason. And additional sites may be suggested in the future.
- Top list: I would include the 2014 nominations, even if it is likely that they will be inscribed. But they are not yet on the list.
- Top-list: As far as possible, we should assess that the criteria of authenticity and integrity are met. I would trust forum members who have already visited a certain site. With some sites, it should be obvious (eg Naica caves).
- Top-list: I do not know how a voting process can be carried out efficiently, but I suppose Els will suggest an elegant way when she is back from her trip to Mexico.
- Filling-the-Gap-list: we should assess what gaps have already been filled by recent nominations. For the existing gaps, we could make suggestions, let's say 1-3 for each? For natural sites or cultural landscapes, we should be as specific as possible so that everyone can identify where the respective site is located. Ideally, already protected areas (national parks, biosphere reserves etc) or otherwise defined areas could be selected. For natural sites, the protectedplanet database might be useful.

I'm still at home! But leaving tomorrow, and this is too big a challenge to take on tonight. Would second the idea of having 2 lists. And also one of the Original rules was that we did not nominate sites from our native country, so I think that should be applied to the Top-list.

For the original top missing list I would like to withdraw some of my old proposals: Kolyma Highway (Russia), modern legacy of Vienna (Austria), Yalta (Ukraine), Mesdag (Netherlands) and divided cities along the German border (Germany et al.). This could leave room for more worthy proposals.

Summary (So Far....)
- NOT including previous Top 50

23 Tentative Sites (Candidate for Top 50 Missing)

Afghanistan - Band-E-Amir (08/09/2004) N
Afghanistan - City of Herat (17/08/2004) C
Botswana - Okavango Delta (27/05/2010) N
China (Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan) - Silk Roads (28/03/2008) C
China - The Grand Canal (28/03/2008) C
Egypt - Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (28/07/2003) C
France - La Grotte ornée Chauvet-Pont d'Arc (29/06/2007) C
France, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, USA (Hawaii) - Rainforests of Polynesia (Transnational) 2/5 components on Tentative List N
Germany - Speicherstadt and Chilehaus with Kontorhaus District (20/09/1999) C
Greece - The Palace of Knossos (#) (31/01/2003) C
Iraq - The Sacred Complex of Babylon (29/10/2003) C
Israel - Triple-arch Gate at Dan & Sources of the Jordan (30/06/2000) C
Italy - Scrovegni's Chapel (01/06/2006) C
Laos - Sites Mégalithiques de la province de Xieng Khouang (25/03/1992) C
Lebanon - Ensemble du site naturel de la région du Chouf avec les monuments et les sites archéologiques qui s'y trouvent (01/07/1996) C
Myanmar - Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period: Ohn Don, Sala, Pakhangyi, Pakhannge, Legaing, Sagu, Shwe-Kyaung (Mandalay) (04/10/1996) C
Nigeria - Benin Iya / Sungbo' s Eredo (01/11/1995) C
Papua New Guinea - The Sublime Karsts of Papua New Guinea (06/06/2006) M
Papua New Guinea (Indonesia) - Rainforests of Papua, Extension of Upper Sepik River Basin (06/06/2006) M
Peru (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador) - Sistema Vial Andino/Qhapaq Ñan (13/08/2010) C
Philippines - El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (16/05/2006) N
South Korea - Southwestern Coast Tidal Flats (11/01/2010) N
Syria - Ebla (Tell Mardikh) (08/06/1999) C

23 New Suggestions (Not on Tentative List) (Candidate for Top 50 Missing)

Australia - Cape York and the islands of the Torres Strait (M)
France - Drift Passes of Rangiroa, French Polynesia N
France - Forests of Southern New Caledonia N
India - Chhatris (cenotaphs) of Orchha C
Germany - Neuschwanstein Castle C
Germany - Tempelhof Airport, Berlin C
Guyana - Kaieteur National Park, Iwokrama Forest and the Kanuku Mountains N
Laos - Si Phan Don Complex M
Mexico - Cave of the Crystals N
Myanmar (Thailand) - Mergui Archipelago and Andaman Coast N
Peru - Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol C
Saudi Arabia - Medina C
Serbia - Synagogue of Subotica C
Spain - Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Frank Gehry C
Somalia - Laas Gaal C
United Kingdom - Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge C
United Kingdom - Windsor Castle C
United States - Chicago School of Architecture C
United States - Death Valley National Park N
United States - Ford River Rouge Complex C
United States - Golden Gate Bridge C
United States - Hollywood Studios & Movie Palaces C
United States - Mount Rushmore C

Europe - 11
Asia - 10
Pacific- 7
Arab States - 6
North America - 6
Latin America - 4
Africa - 2
Caribbean - 0

Cultural: 31
Natural: 11
Mixed: 4

Original Top 50 Missing A-M URL N-Z URL

Jonathanf (Extended List) URL
Assif (Extended List) URL
Kkanekhan (Extended List) URL

Nomination Rule - Removed: 8

Philippines - Butuan Archeological Sites (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Coron Island Natural Biotic Area (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and outlying areas inclusive of the buffer zone (16/05/2006)
Philippines - Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves (16/05/2006)
Philippines - The Maranao Settlement of Tugaya (16/05/2006)
United States - Petrified Forest National Park (30/01/2008)
United States - Agricultural Landscape of the Midwest[/i]

For members that had any suggestions removed, feel free to suggest other candidates not from your home country. I know the rules were not perfectly clear, so no reason to feel bad. I replaced one of my suggestions with the Guyana natural nomination. If any of these removed sites are exceptionally deserving, other members may support the suggestion to be included.