Environment ministry secretary of state Mom Thany speaks at the workshop on May 23. ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY
The Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with UNESCO, organised a three-day workshop from May 23-25, aimed at assisting its officials and stakeholders to prepare Cambodia’s tentative World Heritage list. The list will identify candidates for World Heritage Site status, which is given to natural areas and diverse locations that are of global prominence.
The opening ceremony, held at the ministry headquarters, was presided over by ministry secretary of state Mom Thany and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, local authorities, local and international organisations.
Thany said at the opening of the workshop that Cambodia’s natural and cultural heritage sites have played an important role in promoting national pride and contributing to sustainable development.
She said the successful preparation of protected areas, and mixed natural and cultural sites for official registration as World Heritage Sites, is a complex process that requires in-depth understanding of the World Heritage Convention.
“To be officially inscribed on the World Heritage List, the area must be of universal value and preserved for the benefit of all generations,” she said.
She said the workshop was being run to strengthen the technical capacity of various institutions whose work was related to the World Heritage Convention and the identification of natural and diverse sites of global value that should be included in the World Heritage List for Cambodia.
Recently, the environment ministry supported a team of specialists who were studying and evaluating the natural and historical heritage site of Nokor Phnom-Cheu Kach Ba Phnom – the birthplace of Cambodia dated back to the 1st century – in Prey Veng province’s Ba Phnom district, and Phnom Nam Lear Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province. The evaluations were part of a plan to document the Phnom Nam Lear sanctuary as a UNESCO Geopark and establish Cheu Kach Ba Phnom as a natural and cultural heritage site.
A UNESCO Global Geological Park is a prestigious area for its well-defined natural boundaries, which include a world-class geological heritage of scientific, educational and aesthetic value, along with other biological values of mixed archeology, history and social culture.
According to UNESCO, in 2021 there were 169 Geoparks listed among the 44 nations that have entries on the World Heritage List.
