Norway's fjords head for UN heritage list
Some of the world's deepest Norwegian fjords and a fossil-strewn Egyptian desert are set to join the UN's heritage site protection list, according to a key conservation agency.
The Swiss-based IUCN says the sites, Norway's Gerangerfjord and Naeroyfjord plus Egypt's Wadi Al-Hitan or Whale Valley, are among eight it has recommended for approval at a meeting in South Africa this week.
The IUCN, or World Conservation Union, plays a major role in proposing sites to be added to 788 already on the global list.
It says other areas include India's Valley of Flowers National Park, home to endangered animals like the snow leopard.
Coastal and marine areas feature prominently in this year's list of proposals, which also include the Shiretoko Peninsula located in Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido.
"It has particular global importance for marine and terrestrial species," the IUCN says. "It also boasts the highest recorded densities of brown bear populations in the world."
The governments on whose territory world heritage sites, both cultural and natural, are located are obliged, under a 1972 UN convention, to ensure their long-term protection and prevent any development that could damage them.
Thailand's rugged and mountainous Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest is another candidate. It is home to more than 800 species of animals, many which are threatened or endangered.
South Africa's Vredefort Dome near Johannesburg, the largest and oldest meteorite impact site, is also on the list, which is maintained by the world body's Paris-based cultural, scientific and education organisation UNESCO.