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UNESCO has added islands near northwestern Mexico and the Gulf of Baja California to its list of World Heritage Sites.
15/08/2005 | 16:31
Mexico’s islands and protected areas in the Gulf of Baja California have reportedly been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognises sites around the globe of special cultural, natural, or mixed heritage, reflective of the country’s culture and deserving of international recognition.
The 244 islands, islets and coastal areas between northwestern Mexico and the Baja California peninsula are home to 695 vascular plant species, 39 per cent of the total number of species of marine mammals in the world and a third of the world’s species of cetaceans.
The Mexican government conferred protected status on the archipelago in 1978 and environmentalists hope the UNESCO decision will help preserve the most vulnerable and important of the islands from development.
"Almost all major oceanographic processes occurring in the planet's oceans are present in the property, giving an extraordinary importance for study," a UNESCO statement read.
Countries can receive financial assistance and expert advice from the World Heritage Committee to support activities for the preservation of the sites and there are now 812 properties in 137 countries worldwide on the World Heritage List.
Mexico is ranked first in the Americas and eighth worldwide in terms of UNESCO sites, with other heritage sites including the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul, the monasteries on the slopes at Popocatepetl and the rock paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco.
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