In her presentation during the last Belau Tourism Association meeting where she was among the guest speakers, Director Ilebrang Olkeriil of Koror State Government said, Koror State will be submitting the application to UNESCO World Heritage Site Committee before the deadline in September.
As part of the preparation for the application, extensive stakeholder consultations were conducted by Koror State from 1998 to 2000 to achieve consensus on the management of the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon. After achieving consensus, the Management Plan was developed and approved in 2005.
“The completion of the Management Plan was the basis for adding the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon to the Tentative List in 2007, and its Management Plan is currently being reviewed and updated,” Olkeriil said.
Aside from the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, Palau also has other several properties which are on the tentative list for World Heritage Status, namely, Imeong Conservation Site in Ngeremenglui, Ouballang ra Ngebedech/Ngebedech Terraces in Aimeliik,
Tet el Bad/Stone Coffin in Ngarchelong and the Stone Quarry Site in Palau/FSM/Yap Transboundary Site in Airai.
Palau was among the countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention, pledging to protect their natural and cultural heritage. The UNESCO World Heritage aims to promote the protection of natural and cultural heritage by providing technical assistance and professional training, among others.
Once application is approved, Olkeriil said, Palau’s Rock Island will receive international recognition. “This will also increase Palau’s visibility in the international eco-tourism market and allow the country to receive technical support from UNESCO
“The Rock Islands Southern Lagoon is a unique landscape of marine and terrestrial habitats that supports an exceptionally high diversity of species,” Sebastian Marino said, Director of the Office of the Environmental Response and Coordination.
According to Archeologist Jolie Liston from Garcia & Associates Natural and Cultural Resource Consultants, “The 424 Rock Islands is being nominated as a mixed site, both a natural and cultural site. Understanding the long-term interactions between humans and their ecosystem and the effects of climate change on past human societies is among the significance of having natural and cultural sites.”
The UNESCO World Heritage List now has 890 sites, including 689 cultural, 176 natural and 25 mixed properties in 148 countries.
