The Czech Republic has withdrawn the candidacy of the paper mill in Losiny from UNESCO

Paris - The Czech Republic has withdrawn its nomination of the historical manual paper mill in Velké Losiny for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The reason was that the nomination, in its current form, had no chance of approval, said Michaela Andresová, the representative of the Czech ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, today to ČTK.
    The decision to withdraw the nomination was made in recent days by the Czech Ministry of Culture after considering the assessments prepared by UNESCO experts. They recommended that the nomination, which in their view had only a regional character in its current form, be expanded to include the production of handmade paper elsewhere in the world, said Andresová. A fundamental requirement for inclusion on the UNESCO list is that the given monument has "exceptional universal significance."
    The decision to withdraw the nomination was made shortly before the meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will take place from June 23 to July 2 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The committee will decide on 44 nominations submitted by 38 countries. Slovakia, together with Ukraine, is pursuing the inscription of beech forests on the borders between the two states. The Slovak mission to UNESCO confirmed to ČTK today that this nomination has good chances of approval.
    If the committee does not approve a nomination, its decision is final, and the given monument cannot be proposed again. However, a possible withdrawal of a nomination that does not have a chance of approval in its current form allows for the possibility of presenting it again in the future in an expanded or modified form.
    For this reason, the Czech Republic withdrew the nomination of Slavonic last year and in 2004, the nomination of the rock towns of Český ráj.
    The Czech Republic currently has twelve monuments on the list, while Slovakia has five. Worldwide, there are 830.
    The World Heritage Committee will also discuss the status of 31 sites that are on the list of endangered World Heritage sites, as well as the possible inclusion of additional monuments on this list. Some media have mentioned that UNESCO might consider removing a monument from the World Heritage list for the first time. UNESCO's communiqué does not mention this possibility, and Michaela Andresová also said that it is not expected.
    Media have specifically mentioned the Elbe Valley in Dresden, which was included in the list of endangered sites last year, already then with an immediate threat of removal if the planned construction of a bridge over the Elbe in the area related to the entry goes ahead.
    Regarding the transfer to the list of endangered sites, there is speculation about the Galapagos Islands, which are suffering due to the introduction of alien biological species, mass tourism, and overfishing, the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru, which is also threatened by tourist activity, or the Tower of London, near which a skyscraper is to be built.
    Both the Czech and Slovak missions to UNESCO told ČTK that they have no signals indicating that the transfer to the list of endangered sites threatens any of the Czech or Slovak UNESCO monuments.
    Andresová stated that an additional report from the Czech Republic will be discussed at the meeting in Christchurch, which UNESCO requested after receiving several complaints from Czech citizens regarding construction in Pankrác as a threat to Prague as a UNESCO monument. The Czech diplomat added that the report explaining what is planned in Pankrác was well received by UNESCO, and that it is not expected to have any consequences for Prague.
    Among other agenda items in New Zealand is the impact of climate change on monuments that make up the world's cultural heritage, possibilities for reducing the risks posed to these monuments by natural disasters, and also the concept of "exceptional universal value," which forms the basis for the inscription of monuments on the UNESCO list. A special point also concerns the state of conservation of the old city of Jerusalem and its walls.