The establishment of the UNESCO Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and Pacific Region at the Wildlife Institute of India — the world’s first centre dealing with natural world heritage — will boost capacity-building for world heritage conservation in the 50 countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
WII director Dr VB Mathur said this while addressing the media on the eve of the foundation stone laying ceremony for the centre to be attended by Union minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar.
Mathur informed that there are 32 world heritage sites in India comprising seven natural and 25 cultural sites. Natural heritage conservation in Asia-Pacific region has been facing many challenges in recent years resulting from extreme pressure exerted on natural ecosystems due to high population density, risk of disasters, constant economic growth and persistent poverty. Capacity building for world heritage conservation and management remains a key concern in the region.
Very few countries are equipped with proper natural heritage training facilities. To address the situation, the Government of India in September 2012, submitted to the Director-General, UNESCO a
"Request for Action" towards the establishment of a Centre of Excellence on Natural World Heritage for Asia and the Pacific region at WII which was accepted by the UNESCO DG.
The centre at WII will work to strengthen implementation of world heritage convention in Asia-Pacific region by building the capacity of all professionals and bodies involved with natural heritage site inscription, protection, conservation and management in the region through training, research, dissemination of information and network building.
Mathur said that the institute has been working on world natural heritage for eight years now and has already made a list of about 10 sites in India which it will submit for inscription as world heritage sites in the coming years.