Nepal's Lumbini, UK's Stonehenge Sites To Be Examined During WHC Session This Year

The 46th session of the WHC, which is being hosted in India for the first time, will also discuss the state of conservation of UNESCO heritage properties which are inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, including three sites in Ukraine.

India is hosting the key event of UNESCO from July 21-July 31 at the Bharat Mandapam.

On Monday, the state of conservation of world heritage properties was discussed, sources said.

At a press interaction on the sidelines of the event, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of UNESCO World Heritage, said the Committee is going to examine two particular sites, one of them is Lumbini and the other is Stonehenge in the UK.

These two sites could potentially be included in the List of World Heritage in Danger, hence warranting the examination, he suggested.

The two sites are on the World Heritage List but not on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Asked why the WHC intends to examine these two sites, he said, "When it comes to Lumbini... and Lumbini is a very important site for the Committee, and for the entire world, it a very sacred site, it's very important, there are a number of issues, some related to development pressure that has seen over the past (time)".

He emphasised that it is really important to "come together and work with the government of Nepal to reverse and address the situation".

Because, the government of Nepal shouldn't be left alone, and there is a need to "work together," he added.

"The same thing for Stonehenge, it's a situation that has been ongoing, there is also a development situation, the authorities would like to implement a project that could affect the values of Stonehenge. So, the idea is to find the best solution, discuss among committee members on these two sites," Assomo said.

Lumbini was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

Stonehenge, Avebury and associated sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986, it said. Stonehenge and Avebury, in Wiltshire, are among the most famous groups of megaliths in the world.

The UNESCO official, however, did not elaborate upon the exact issues that have warranted an examination of the two sites by the WHC.

According to the UNESCO website, there are 56 properties that the WHC has decided to include on the List of World Heritage in Danger in accordance with Article 11 (4) of the World Heritage Convention.

These sites include Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan, the Historic Centre of Vienna in Austria, the Archaeological Site of Cyrene in Libya and three in Ukraine -- Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv; The Ensemble of the Historic Centre in L'viv; and The Historic Centre of Odesa.

Ernesto Ottone R, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO in response to a query on whether the threatened sites in Ukraine will be discussed during the WHC meeting, replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, the three sites in Ukraine - in Kyiv, L'viv and Odesa, will be discussed," he said.

"We are doing follow-up and doing monitoring every day with satellite... to put all this information in an instrument that was created by UNESCO," he said.

According to a provisionary agenda of the WHC session available on the UNESCO website, the discussion on the state of conservation of UNESCO heritage properties which are inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger is slated to take place tomorrow.

Explaining the process involved in identifying such sites, Assomo said when a committee examines a situation of the state of conservation of a site, whether it has to put it on the List of World Heritage in Danger, "there is a debate in the room".

"There is a monitoring process of the situation where the committee tries to provide a number of actions, a number of decisions to improve the situation.

"And, if with the technical advice of the advisory bodies, it considers that the situation has reached a point where it is important to really activate a broader mobilisation then it takes a decision, to go to the risk," he added.

The Committee's role is to "examine, re-evaluate the site" and have the "best solution and approach" that will allow the concerned country to "improve the situation," the Director of UNESCO World Heritage said.

The main purpose of the WHC is to provide solutions with advisory bodies that State Parties will implement. A Committee will give "corrective measures in order to improve", and it will provide advice and recommendations to concerned State Parties.

The Committee can also provide recommendations to improve the situation by working with State Parties, he said.

As of date, 1,199 properties are inscribed by 168 State Parties on the World Heritage List. All matters related to World Heritage Conventions are taken during the Session of the World Heritage Committee.

The WHC comprises representatives from 21 State Parties to the World Heritage Convention, elected by the General Assembly of UNESCO. Current members of the WHC include India, Argentina, Belgium, Italy, Ukraine and Vietnam.