QUEBEC CITY, Canada, July 8, 2008 (ENS) - Eight new natural sites were added to the World Heritage List today by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec City.
The new sites include the Socotra Archipelago in Yemen, Canada's Joggins Fossil Cliffs, the French Lagoons of New Caledonia, Saryarka in Northern Kazakhstan, Mount Sanqingshan National Park in China, Surtsey in Iceland, the Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.
"These eight stunning natural sites are amongst the best of what nature has to offer," said David Sheppard, head of the Protected Areas Programme with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, which undertakes technical evaluations of the natural values of the sites nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List.
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