Hawaiian Archipelago, including the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National MonumentOn July 30, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee inscribed Hawaii's Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument on the prestigious World Heritage List. This is the first new U.S. World Heritage site in fifteen years. Papahānaumokuākea is a vast and isolated linear cluster of small, low lying islands and atolls, with their surrounding ocean, roughly 250 km to the northwest of the main Hawaiian Archipelago and extending over some 1931 km. Read more!
In another action by the Committee, the Everglades National Park in Florida has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Danger List. The park was first inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1979 due to the exceptional variety of its water habitats. Read more!
Mt. Vernon, the historic home of George Washington, was withdrawn from consideration at this meeting. Apparently the nomination can be reconsidered at a future meeting of the committee. Read more!
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I am informed that the willingness of the United States to acknowledge the threats to the Everglades was widely appreciated by the delegates at the meeting. The Everglades had been on the imperiled list for some time but was removed in 2008, reportedly due to lobbying by the Bush administration rather than success in assuring its pristine survival. The Obama administration encouraged the World Heritage Committee to return the Everglades to the list of imperiled sites.
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