Inca road system, or Qhapaq Ñan, will be examined for inclusion on the World Heritage list during the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee, being hosted by Qatar in the capital, Doha, and chaired by H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
This listing could potentially provide much opportunity for the protection of this heritage that stretches some 30,000 km across the Andes in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
During the opening ceremony of the above mentioned committee, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, announced a $10 million donation to a new fund to protect World Heritage sites affected by conflict or natural disaster.
During her address to the opening ceremony, Sheikha Mayassa highlighted the multiple threats facing World Heritage today, and called on “all of the States of the big World Heritage family” to support Qatar’s initiative by “contributing to this newly created fund.”
“This year we will be very close to reaching 1000 World Heritage properties inscribed in the List,” said Sheikha Mayassa.
“What an achievement in terms of success of the World Heritage Convention. But it also underlines the full commitment of the international community to the principle that lies at the heart of the Convention: a shared responsibility for humanity’s heritage of outstanding universal value,” she added.
As part of this session, the Committee will consider the inscription of 36 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and examine the state of conservation of more than 100 of the 981 existing World Heritage properties
The Qhapac Nan is a network of roads built by the Incas in order to unite the various parts of the Tawantinsuyu for an efficient management of the existing resources throughout the Andean region.
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Published: 6/16/2014