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The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 34th Session in Brasilia, Brazil from 25 July to 3 August. During this year's session, to be chaired by João Luiz Ferreira, the Brazilian Minister of Culture, 35 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will present 32 properties for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List (click here for the WHC news release).
One of these properties, submitted for inscription in the mixed (i.e. both natural and cultural categories) is the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii, submitted by the USA. This site contains a number of islands ((Midway, Laysan, etc.) that support large populations of Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed P. nigripes Albatrosses. The full text of the USA's nomination document may be found at http://papahanaumokuakea.gov/management/wh_docs/wh_full_app.pdf.
Japan's Ogasawara Islands and Mexico's Archipíelago de Revillagigedo, both home to breeding albatrosses, have as yet not been formally listed for nomination to the World Heritage Convention, although such plans have been announced previously (click here for earlier ACAP news on potential World Heritage Sites for albatrosses in the Pacific Ocean).
Several albatross breeding sites in the southern hemisphere are World Heritage Sites but the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, if accepted by the WHC, will be the first in the northern hemisphere (click here for a list of existing World Heritage Sites supporting breeding colonies of ACAP-listed species).
John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 July 2010