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TOP 50 - ASIA AND THE PACIFIC [2020]

 
 
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Author FredericM
Partaker
#16 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:13 
I just discovered these by doing some research:

Full Name of Site: Baa Atoll
Country: Maldives
TWHS? No
Short description of site:
Baa Atoll as a biosphere reserve, Maldives, harbors globally significant biodiversity in its numerous reefs and demonstrates a long history of human interaction with the environment. Covering approximately 139,700 ha of coastal/marine areas, the site is representative of the Maldives' high diversity of reef animals, with stony and soft corals, reef associated fish species, marine turtles, manta rays and whale sharks. Hanifaru Bay regularly sees some of the largest gatherings of manta rays worldwide with up to one hundred individuals in the small inlet when the tide pushes plankton into the bay. Maalhosmadulu Atoll is considered as a good example of the rich biodiversity found in the Maldives, including large mangroves and a unique diversity of fauna, such as the benthic fauna. Furthermore, the ring-shaped reef forms is a reef structure which is unique to the Maldives. Olhugiri island is well known for its unique natural vegetation and for providing two of the only perching sites for the great frigatebird in the Maldives. Likewise, other marine creatures such as seaturtles and hawksbill turtles can be encountered. One of the most important species living around Baa Atoll is the parrot fish. This species eats the corral under the water and secretes it later on as sand. In fact on some of the islands, 70% of the sand found there is the parrot fish's excrement. (Wikipedia)

Full Name of Site: Chagos Marine Protected Area
Country: UK, but claimed by Maldives and Mauritius (and in the middle of Indian Ocean, so I'm unsure if it fits in this continent)
TWHS? No
Short description of site:
The Chagos Marine Protected Area is one of the world's largest marine protected areas, and one of the largest protected areas of any type (land or sea) on Earth. The Chagos marine reserve protects the world's largest coral atoll (the Great Chagos Bank) and has one of the healthiest reef systems in the cleanest waters of the world, supporting nearly half the area of good quality reefs in the Indian Ocean. One of the most unusual aspects of the Chagos marine environment is its extremely healthy and diverse coral cover. The area hosts 220 species of coral including the Ctenella chagius, a variety of brain coral believed to be endemic to the atoll. Chagos provides an important benchmark for coral conservation, and is a 'natural laboratory' in which we can study the functioning of these wonderfully complex ecosystems. The fish of the region are equally diverse, with at least 784 different species having been identified including the Chagos clownfish (Amphiprion chagosensis) which is endemic to the archipelago. The islands of the archipelago provide vital nesting sites for green and hawksbill turtles (Chelonia mydas and Eretmochelys imbricata). The breeding seabirds of the Chagos are considered to be of international importance. The archipelago harbours eighteen different species of breeding birds and ten of its islands have been designated as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) by Birdlife International, making the region the most diverse breeding seabird community in this tropical region. The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is abundant with an overall density in the conservation area on Diego Garcia of 298 crabs per hectare – the highest ever recorded. (Wikipedia)

Author FredericM
Partaker
#17 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:17 
carlosarion:
Myanmar
Mrauk-U: for real, this needs to be inscribed as soon as possible--too bad there are still conflicts within this part of Myanmar. This site represents the legacy of Arakanese kingdom
Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill: a very popular cultural and religious site for tourists and locals alike: an important monument of Buddhism in Southeast Asia [visited]

Philippines
Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape: this site manifests the extreme biodiversity in the southern portion of Palawan. Hope this gets inscribed in 2021 or 2022.
El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area: represents the varied and beautiful landscapes and seascapes in this part of the Philippines, containing highly dense marine biodiversity (within the Coral Triangle) [visited]
Chocolate Hills Natural Monument: including this because other than the similar but irregular hills found in Java, this conical geological formations are extremely unique in the world. [visited]

I support these. All seem amazing!

Author carlosarion
Partaker
#18 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:22 
FredericM:
I support these. All seem amazing!

Thanks Frederic! These sites are all in the tentative lists. I would also add some that are not yet on the tentative list, hence, I will revise it.

Author davidyao
Partaker
#19 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:25 
TOP 20 China missing voted by Chinese WHS Fans in last year.

Top 10
1 Jomolangma (Everest)
2 Western Xia Imperial Tombs
3 Wooden Structures of Liao Dynasty—Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County,Main Hall of Fengguo Monastery of Yixian County
4 Archaeological Sites of the Ancient Shu State
5 Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon—Namjagbarwa
6 Vertical Vegetation Landscape and Volcanic Landscape in Changbai Mountain
7 Scenic and historic area of Sacred Mountains and Lakes(Mount Kailash)
8 Quanzhou(Zayton)
9 The Ancient Waterfront Towns in the South of Yangtze River
10 Imperial Mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty

Full list:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI0ODEwNTI3Mw==&mid=2649213397&idx=1&sn=2abac2cebd72db68ae19e6117d6f88d9&chksm=f1b6b983c6c13095710e65ed284b2789812ef5817a6027f1e995c038738f50074846b8d676cb&token=1760709478&lang=zh_CN#rd

Author winterkjm
Partaker
#20 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:39 | Edited by: winterkjm 
FredericM:
El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area

Also super impressed when I visited both El Nido and Taytay in 2011. In our original Top Missing List, we had this nomination at 88. I was going to send my support, but FredericM beat me to it!

Author carlosarion
Partaker
#21 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:40 | Edited by: carlosarion 
*A revision from my earlier post that I deleted:
Here are my slightly biased proposals, with a focus on Southeast Asia as I want it to be represented as well. :) I am basing my proposals on actual visits and/or readings from the UNESCO World Heritage wesbite.

On the tentative list already:

Indonesia
Raja Ampat Islands: coral reefs and islets of extreme beauty and rich biodiversity; within the Coral Triangle of marine biodiversity
Tana Toraja Traditional Settlement: unique traditional buildings that represent a rich culture in Sulawesi.

Myanmar
Inle Lake: an ethnically diverse cultural landscape centered on the lake [visited]
Mrauk-U: for real, this needs to be inscribed as soon as possible--too bad there are still conflicts within this part of Myanmar. This site represents the legacy of Arakanese kingdom
Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill: a very popular cultural and religious site for tourists and locals alike: an important monument of Buddhism in Southeast Asia [visited]

Philippines
Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape: this site manifests the extreme biodiversity in the southern portion of Palawan. Hope this gets inscribed in 2021 or 2022.
El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area: represents the varied and beautiful landscapes and seascapes in this part of the Philippines, containing highly dense marine biodiversity (within the Coral Triangle) [visited]
Chocolate Hills Natural Monument: including this because other than the similar but irregular hills found in Java, this conical geological formations are extremely unique in the world. [visited]
Paleolithic Archaeological Sites in Cagayan Valley: I think this is one of the most important paleolithic sites in Asia, given the recent discovery of Homo luzonensis

Thailand
Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna: the city walls and monuments within are a beautiful manifestation of the legacy of the Kingdom of Lanna

Not on the tentative list:

Cambodia
Tonle Sap: a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Can be both natural and cultural

Malaysia
Cameron Highlands: if other tea plantations could be considered for inscription, why not this one? Cultural

New Zealand
Rakiura National Park: NZ's youngest but very important as it is home to kiwis (the birds). Natural

Author Colvin
Partaker
#22 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:43 
winterkjm:
With the Central Axis in Beijing nomination, this is the closest Beijing can get to a Historic Center as we have come to recognize UNESCO designated cities. Seoul on the hand, would be even more difficult.

Oh -- I certainly understand this, which is why I wasn't suggesting that other sites in the Beijing area get lumped into one site. I was just suggesting that if the Central Axis in Beijing is going to encompass an area that includes the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City, it makes more sense to make that the primary World Heritage Site by subsuming the other two sites. At the same time, I don't think China (or any other country) would do that, since there seems to be little movement to consolidate sites.

As for Seoul, that was more of an issue that Nan was asking about. I'm fine with the separate sites as they stand.

Author winterkjm
Partaker
#23 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 21:52 
FredericM:
Full Name of Site: Baa Atoll
Country: Maldives

I would support this proposal for the Maldives, which is yet to successfully nominate a site for inscription. This atoll looks stunning and ecologically there is an argument for its importance, but the level of development by resorts is concerning, no? The criteria and purpose of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve program are somewhat different compared to the UNESCO World Heritage program, "Man and the Biosphere Programme is an intergovernmental scientific programme, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments." I wonder how the IUCN would view this?

Author Colvin
Partaker
#24 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 22:01 
carlosarion:
Malaysia:
Cameron Highlands: if other tea plantations could be considered for inscription, why not this one? Cultural

The Cameron Highlands are beautiful. I could see this as a cultural landscape (see Lake District in the UK). I'll second this.

Author carlosarion
Partaker
#25 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 22:08 | Edited by: carlosarion 
Additional sites:

Timor-Leste - no UNESCO site so far, no sites on the tentative list. Ratification of the convention: 2016
Nino Konis Santana National Park: based on the Wikipedia article and Miksic et al (2011), it is the country's first national park, and it is also within the Coral Triangle.

Philippines
Verde Island Passage: "Center of the center of marine shorefish biodiversity" (Springer & Carpenter, 2005)

Apologies for my insistence of natural sites within this part of the world.

Author winterkjm
Partaker
#26 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 22:12 | Edited by: winterkjm 
Colvin:
Temple of Heaven

Yeah, it is interesting that under the currently plan the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City will gain a double inscription. I think there could be more of a justification for encompassing the Temple of Heaven into the much broader Central Axis of Beijing nomination, but the Forbidden City, which is already combined with the Shenyang Palace is where it becomes even more complicated.

A couple years back, there was even discussion of a transnational nomination proposal (being sited in articles) related to Imperial Confucian Academies in China, Korea, and Vietnam. It would be interesting to consider what transnational nominations could potentially work in East Asia, however geopolitics make this kind of project unlikely.

Author Colvin
Partaker
#27 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 22:15 | Edited by: Colvin 
Yes -- that makes sense to include the Temple of Heaven in the Central Axis of Beijing, then, while excluding the Imperial Palaces. For some reason I'd been thinking that the Forbidden City had been inscribed on its own, but I haven't really paid close attention to Chinese WHS yet since I've never been to China.

Author Colvin
Partaker
#28 | Posted: 17 Apr 2020 22:27 | Edited by: Colvin 
winterkjm:
It would be interesting to consider what transnational nominations could potentially work in East Asia

Beyond the Silk Road nomination listed earlier above, wasn't China also pursuing a site on the Maritime Silk Road? That could potentially become a transnational nomination.

Author Assif
Partaker
#29 | Posted: 18 Apr 2020 02:08 | Edited by: Assif 
Colvin:
Full Name of Site: Heritage of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Country: United States

FredericM:
Chagos Marine Protected Area
Country: UK, but claimed by Maldives and Mauritius (and in the middle of Indian Ocean, so I'm unsure if it fits in this continent)

These proposals belong to the Europe-North America Unesco region.

Author winterkjm
Partaker
#30 | Posted: 18 Apr 2020 02:27 | Edited by: winterkjm 
I wonder, is China only willing to take on the transnational approach with the Silk Road because it reflects on the glory of their past civilization or would they be more willing to pursue transnational nominations than perhaps we give them credit for? There has been some indication that China was willing to put forward some transnational natural nominations, such as the "Xinjiang Altai Mountains" [Extension] that was evaluated as Incomplete by the IUCN. In regards to the Silk Road phases, the more countries involved the more sites added, the greater prestige given to Chinese Civilization. Which to be perfectly honest is fine, Tang and Song Dynasty China ARE indeed splendid "golden" periods of civilization, worthy of endless research and indeed awe from any person with a passing interest in History. Neighbors in the region "might" be willing to cooperate with a transnational nomination, but I doubt China would be very eager beyond the Silk Road project. For starters China seems to have no trouble filling in their nomination quota, so it's not like the relevant cultural heritage ministries have exhausted the tentative list sites that have potential for inscription. In addition, geopolitics in the region is so tenuous. Borders land and sea, or borders from centuries (or even millennia) in the past can be very real between China, Mongolia, Korea, Russia, Japan and Vietnam. We learned this with the Goguryeo double inscription in 2004 between the DPRK and China, which really could (should?) have been transnational. I am certainly not pointing the finger at China here, strong sentiments of Nationalism is common in East Asia and that can be fatal for any such cross-country endeavor such as this.

I guess, what I am trying to begin thinking about, what are (if any) potential transnational nominations that are worth pursing in the Asia and the Pacific region? Regardless of the current hurdles. I think brainstorming a bit might be worthwhile.

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