UNESCO: New additions to the list include the Sydney Opera House and Slovakian Primeval Forests

Christchurch (New Zealand) - The UNESCO World Heritage Committee Conference today decided in a session in Christchurch, New Zealand, to add the Carpathian beech forests in Slovakia and Ukraine to the prestigious list of exceptional world natural and cultural monuments. Additionally, the world-famous Sydney Opera House in Australia and the historic city of Samarra in Iraq were also newly added to the list.
    The area of unique beech forests in Europe was collectively nominated for the UNESCO list by Slovakia and Ukraine. Four locations are on Slovak territory - three in the Poloniny National Park and one in the Vihorlat Protected Landscape Area. The primeval forests, notable for their plant and animal life, have thus become the sixth Slovak site inscribed on the World Heritage list.
    According to Slovak ecologist Erik Baláž, the forest area in Poloniny and Vihorlat is exceptional because its fauna and flora are very sensitive to human interference. "There are, for example, fungi or insects that need decaying wood for their existence," Baláž told the Czech News Agency.
    In the primeval forests, dead or broken and decaying trees are common. This is precisely what a portion of the unique fauna and flora depends on, explains Viliam Bartuš from the forest protection organization VLK.
    Two of the four primeval forests are located on the Slovak-Ukrainian border. Following Slovakia's entry into the Schengen Area, a strictly guarded external border of the European Union will pass through them. "There are pressures to make the forest accessible, to create clearings because of border protection," Bartuš noted. Therefore, according to him, inscription of the primeval forests on the UNESCO list could increase the importance of protecting these forests.
    During Wednesday and Thursday, the committee in Christchurch added 14 new items to the list alongside the Slovak-Ukrainian natural complex. Among them is also the famous shell-like Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. The building, which is 183 meters long, 118 meters wide, and 67 meters high at its tallest point above sea level, is regarded by the committee as "a significant architectural monument of the 20th century."
    The northern Iraqi city of Samarra found its place on the cultural and natural heritage list due to its historical and archaeological significance. The city is home to the so-called Golden Mosque, which is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Shia Muslims. The mosque was severely damaged in a bomb attack on June 13 of this year. The Christchurch conference also placed the mosque on the list of endangered monuments.
    The UNESCO Committee also decided to include Teide National Park on the largest Canary Island, Tenerife. The park is dominated by the Teide volcano, which, at 3,178 meters high, is the third-largest volcanic structure in the world.
    UNESCO also decided to expand the inscription of the area around the Jungfrau massif in Switzerland, which has been on the list since 2001, by an additional 82,000 hectares.
    Other monuments in Japan, China, India, Turkmenistan, South Africa, Namibia, and Madagascar were also inscribed on the list.