27 June 2011
WHC Inscribes Sites in Africa, Asia, Oceania
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At its 35th session, the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley, the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, the Saloum Delta in Senegal, and Australia's Ningaloo Coast on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Geyser spewing super hot water at Lake Bogoria, Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley24 June 2011: The World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley, the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, the Saloum Delta in Senegal, and Australia’s Ningaloo Coast on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The decisions were taken at the 35th session of the WHC, convening in Paris, France, from 19-29 June 2011.

The Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley comprises three inter-linked, relatively shallow lakes in the country’s Rift Valley province, and provides the habitat to 13 globally threatened bird species and some of the highest bird diversity in the world. The marine and terrestrial property of Ningaloo Coast in western Australia includes one of the longest near-shore reefs in the world and is home to numerous sea turtles and annual gatherings of whale sharks. The 30 islands that comprise the Ogasawara in Japan are home to the Bonin Flying Fox, a critically endangered bat, and 195 endangered bird species. Senegal’s Saloum Delta comprises brackish channels encompassing over 200 islands and islets, mangrove forest, an Atlantic marine environment and dry forest. [UN Press Release] [35th Session of the WHC Website] [UNESCO Press Release on the Chinese Site] [UNESCO Press Release on the Japanese Site] [UNESCO Press Release on the Sites in Kenya and Australia] [UNESCO Press Release on the Senegalese Site]

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