A Peruvian delegation has travelled to Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday to take part in the 38th Annual Session of Unesco's World Heritage Committee, where the Qhapac Ñan- the Andean Road System- is expected to get World Heritage Status.
Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Industries, Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, will head the Peruvian delegation, made up of the General Coordinator of Qhapac-Ñan Project Giancarlo Marcone Flores and the Director General of Cultural Heritage, Ana Maria Hoyle, who is already in the Qatar's capital.
The network is one of at least 36 natural and cultural attractions recommended for recognition by the Unesco World Heritage Committee, whose session began on 15 June and will continue through 25 June.
Inclusion on the list has significant economic implications as a World Heritage site is eligible for financial assistance towards preservation, and the coveted status is also a powerful draw for tourists.
The Qhapac Nanm 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.
This heritage stretches some 30,000 km (18,600 miles) across the Andes in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, the last of which added the routes to Unesco's tentative list in 2001, and was later followed by the other nations.
Among the sites expected to win the coveted status are the Silk Roads in China; Judean caves in Israel; Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave in France; and the Rani-ki-Vav, or Queen’s Stepwell, dating back from the 11th and 12th centuries in Gujarat, India.
As of 2013, there are a total of 981 World Heritage Sites located in 160 countries.
(END) NDP/ASH/DLG/RMB
Published: 6/19/2014