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UNESCO World Heritage application to go in

A small committee continues to work to obtain UNESCO World Heritage status for the volcanoes of Wells Gray Park and area
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A small committee continues to work to obtain UNESCO World Heritage status for the volcanoes of Wells Gray Park and area, according to Trevor Goward and Cathie Hickson, two of the organizers.

The two hope to have an nomination in by a Jan. 27 deadline for Canada's next set of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The application form is quite simple, Hickson said. To put together an actual nomination for World Heritage status has been estimated to cost at least several hundred thousand dollars.

World Heritage sites are exceptional places around the world that are considered to have outstanding universal value — these sites are as diverse as the pyramids of Egypt and Australia's Great Barrier Reef, reflecting the best of cultural and natural heritage.

There are 18 World Heritage sites in Canada, including the Rocky Mountain parks and the historic district of Québec City.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna recently announced the members of a new ministerial advisory committee charged with reviewing applications from the public for Canada's next set of possible UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The committee is composed of six Canadians who are experts in natural and cultural heritage conservation and commemoration.

The committee will review all applications submitted by the public and will recommend to the minister the sites to be included on Canada's updated lists for World Heritage Sites, which will be announced in 2017.

Canada's list for inscription as World Heritage sites was last updated in 2004.

For more information, visit: www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/spm-whs/sec06.aspx.