ITALY'S DOLOMITES NAMED A WORLD HERITAGE NATURAL SITE
SEVILLE - A great ambition has been realised for supporters of Italy's bid to get its stunning Dolomite mountain range on the United Nations World Heritage List. Reinhold Messner, considered the world's greatest mountaineer and long time supporter of the nomination, said: ''a dream that has been long nurtured has come true. The Dolomites are completely unique - they cannot be compared to any other mountain in the world. I hope they can be seen with new eyes, as an immense wealth for everyone and not just a postcard or an Internet attraction to draw mass tourism. That would be the opposite of the nomination's intent''.
The first suggestion to nominate the Dolomites for inclusion in the United Nations World Heritage List was made in 1992 by Messer and the NGO Mountain Wilderness he helped found in 1987. It took another ten years for the campaign to gather enough political support to get off the ground. A final acceleration in 2004 was helped by direct participation from the five provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Belluno, Udine and Pordenone.
Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said the recognition by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) was confirmation of the mountains' unique importance. Joining the volcanic Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily, the heritage panel meeting in Seville made the Dolomites Italy's second natural heritage site. Praised by writers and portrayed by artists, used a film sets and the site of great sporting events, the Dolomites are now one of the world's 176 natural treasures for their ''exceptional natural beauty and significant on-going geological processes''. The Dolomites are also the first serial site accepted by the World Heritage Committee, something made possible by ''the participation of the five provinces and three regions'' said the minister, regions where residents speak Italian, German and Ladin.
The Dolomite mountain groups included in the new World Heritage Site span 142,000 hectares and have been given 85 hectares of border areas for a total of 231,000 hectares. The mountains are in three of Italy's northern regions - Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Veneto.
Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia, from the Veneto Region, points out the number of Italian sites (44) on the World Heritage List to underscore that ''the achievement is also due to the commitment with which Dolomite communities, for generations, have protected and cared for this fascinating coral archipelago''. The Dolomites - named after the dolomite rock that gives them their special colour and shape - were formed around 90 million years ago when the land masses that are now Europe and Africa came together and pushed the Alps up out of the sea. The Dolomites will now assume a new role in terms of tourism and as an economic resource, becoming a kind of open air museum. ''United Nations recognition gives us the possibility of combining environmental protection and a sustainable development model'', said Minister Prestigiacomo.
The governors of the regions, Lorenzo Dellai (Trentino), Luis Durnwalder (Alto Adige) and Giancarlo Galan (Veneto) are all delighted with the verdict. Galan listed the other cultural heritage sites in the region - Venice and the Venice Lagoon, the Botanical Garden in Padua, the City of Vicenza and the Veneto Palladian Villas, and the City of Verona - but warned, ''once a site is on the United Nations List, it has to stay there. That is why we are committed to protecting the landscape and history in the Veneto''. Mauro Gilmozzi, the environment councillor for the Trento provincial administration, has been tasked with setting up the Dolomiti - Dolomiten - Dolomites - Dolomitis UNESCO Foundation, an inter-institutional body. ''We have eighteen months to implement the commitments that have been made, in particular the foundation must start working and draw up a management plan for the various areas. The general management plan already exists but now we have to break it down. The nomination of the Dolomites is no longer just and idea but a concrete fact'', said Gilmozzi.
The removal of Germany's Dresden Elbe Valley from the United Nations World Heritage List after the city decided to build a four-lane bridge in the heart of the cultural landscape is a timely warning that getting on the prestigious list doesn't mean staying there.
