World Heritage site signed

THE Unesco Director General, Koichiro Matsuura, is confident that Trinidad and Tobago’s Pitch Lake will soon be declared a world heritage site, following Government’s signing of the International Convention on the Preservation and Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage. The signing on Wednesday evening  paves the way to have the Pitch Lake declared a World Heritage site. Acting Foreign Affairs Minister, Danny Montano, signed the convention at a ceremony at the principal’s office at UWI, St Augustine, in the presence of Matsuura, who was on his first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago. Matsuura left Trinidad yesterday morning for Dominica.

Matsuura said this country became the 180th signatory to the convention and the 15th in the Caribbean region. He said there are 15 World Heritage sites, half of which were in Cuba. Matsuura said he was “convinced that Trinidad and Tobago will soon have a World Heritage site.” Admitting that the process was “complicated,” Matsuura said our “rich bio-diversity and cultural history” will have a site “declared very soon.” In his remarks at the ceremony, Montano said “culture and natural heritage were critical supporting pillars in the development of states.” He said Government “takes seriously its legal responsibilities concerning the implementation of the convention,” having already established a National Trust.

An inventory of heritage sites, both built and natural, is currently underway in addition to a public awareness campaign on the importance of our natural heritage. Montano said besides the Pitch Lake, the Caroni Swamp and Aripo Savannah were identified as important heritage sites. He said a major restoration programme is ongoing at Fort King George and the Magnificent Seven, around the Queen’s Park Savannah. President of the National Commission for Unesco and Minister of Education, Hazel Manning, said with the signing of the convention, work will begin immediately to address the absence of “well preserved and maintained cultural and natural sites.” She said Government looked forward to the support and participation of Unesco in assisting with having the Pitch Lake declared a World Heritage site.