War, wonders: hopefuls vie for place on UNESCO list

Inuit hunting grounds, World War I cemeteries, Art Deco heritage in Mumbai and Italy’s wine-producing Prosecco hills are among 30 hopefuls in the running to join UNESCO’s famous list as the World Heritage Committee meets from Sunday in Bahrain.

Delegates at the annual gathering will also debate adding locations including Kenya’s Lake Turkana and Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley to those sites considered “in danger,” but could remove the Belize Barrier Reef from the risk list due to an oil activity ban.

The roster of contenders for this year’s new additions spans the globe from the Aasivissuit and Nipisat hunting grounds in the frozen expanses of Greenland to the sun-scorched Al-Ahsa Oasis in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

Eye-catching – or lip-smacking – sites among them include the Prosecco Hills in northwest Italy where famed sparkling wine has been made for centuries, as well as the town of Zatec in the Czech Republic renowned for its hops.

In India, a collection of Victorian and Art Deco landmarks in bustling Mumbai is being billed as “the largest such conglomeration of these two genres of architecture in the world.”

The push to include funeral and memorial sites in Belgium and France for those killed on WWI’s Western Front has sparked debate over how to treat locations associated with recent conflicts.

Getting on the World Heritage List could be a major boon for the nominees, as being deemed of “outstanding universal value” can boost tourist numbers and bring in funding.