After several days of online deliberations, UNESCO has voted to add 33 new spots to its list of World Heritage Sites so far, with more discussions to come.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee didn’t meet last year.
UNESCO designated its first World Heritage Sites back in 1978.
UNESCO says that to be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of “outstanding universal value”
Australia now has enough global support to avoid UNESCO listing the Great Barrier Reef as an “in danger” World Heritage Site until at least 2023
In June, the 12 countries in UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee voted for a draft ruling that the Great Barrier Reef was in danger of losing its World Heritage status due to the impacts of climate change.
Since then, Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has been busy lobbying Europe. During her tour, she visited eight countries in a bid to gain support to reject the danger listing.
The Australian government successfully garnered support from 12 other countries to delay the decision until 2023. This is enough for a clear majority.
