MANILA – Unesco added 22 new places to the World Heritage List and eliminated the Shrine of the Arab Oryx, in Oman, at the 31st meeting of the committee responsible for the relationship, held in New Zealand.

The decisions made in the city of Christchurch leave the World Heritage List with 851 places. There are 660 cultural heritage sites, 166 natural and 25 mixed.

Of the 45 proposals submitted, only 22 were approved by the Munidal Heritage Committee. There are four from Africa, one from North America, nine from Asia and Oceania, seven from Europe and one from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The only Latin American proposal was approved on the 29th, the last session. It is the central campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Mexico now has 27 heritage sites on the UNESCO list.

Africa managed to include the forests of Atsinanana, in Madagascar; the archaic cultural landscape and ecosystem of Lopé-Okanda, in Gabon; the cultural and botanical landscape of Richtersveld, South Africa; and the cave paintings of Twyfelfontein, Namibia.

The monumental 19th century Rideau canal in Canada is the new world heritage site for North America.

From Asia and Oceania, UNESCO approved the Sydney Opera House (Australia); the archaeological city of Samarra (Iraq); the cultural landscape of rock art from Gobustan (Azerbaijan), the landscape of the Karst (southern China); the diaolou (strongholds) and villages in Kaiping (also in China); the Red Fort (India); the silver mines of Iwami Ginzan (Japan); the volcanic landscape of the island of Jeju (South Korea); and the fortress departs from Nisa (Turkmenistan).

The Teide National Park (Spain) entered Europe; the historic center of Bordeaux (France); the Ancient City of Corfu (Greece) the Gamzigrad-Romuliana Palace (Serbia); the bridge of Grand Vizier Meehmed Sokolovic, in Visegrad (Bosnia); the vineyard terraces of Lavaux (Switzerland); and the primary Carpathian beech forests (Slovakia and Ukraine).

The Committee included the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, the Niokolo-Kiba National Park in Senegal, and Samarra on the World Heritage List in Danger.

The Plátano River biosphere reserve in Honduras, the royal palaces of Aborney in Benin, the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal and the Everglades National Park in the United States have left the list of endangered places.

For the first time, the committee removed a site from the World Heritage list. The withdrawal from the Sanctuary of the Arab Oryx was a reaction to the attitude of the Government of Oman, which reduced the area of ​​the national park by 90% to protect the antelope, according to UNESCO.

The statement adds that the population of the species at the site dropped from 450 in 1996 to 45. In addition, there are only four couples for breeding.