Organization of the United Nations Educational, scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has registered, Sunday evening "pitons, cirques and ramparts" island of the meeting on the World Heritage list, in respect of the natural properties. The French Department of the Indian Ocean became the fourth French site in this category, after the Gulf of Porto (Corsica), the mont Perdu (Pyrenees) and the lagoons of New Caledonia. "World Heritage" Réunion covers 40 of the territory of the island, in the mountainous centre, with the snow piton (3.070 m) as highest point. It coincides with the perimeter of the Park, created in March 2007, which includes most of the natural areas unmodified by human.
Island deserted until 1663, the meeting submitted its "exceptional and unique" character, test of the inscription on the list of Unesco, by the greatness of his landscapes, but also the richness of its biodiversity. "Its subtropical forests, tropical forests, wetlands and Moors are a remarkable mosaic of ecosystems and visually attractive landscapes", said Unesco.
A new asset
The Réunion application file also forward put the interest of the scientific observation of the island. On this earth apparition on the surface of the Indian Ocean there are only three million years, geologists can study active volcanism of the piton de la Fournaise, as erosion accelerated friable mass. Botanists and ornithologists there are regular discoveries on the evolution of the species in closed environments. The meeting houses including 230 plant species unique in the world.
More prosaically, World Heritage registration offers the meeting a new asset to tourism promotion. The island suffers from a lack of notoriety, unlike the Caribbean but also in Mauritius, Madagascar or in Seychelles, its closest neighbours. Last year, allowed 422.000 visitors, but this figure is made up more than half of tourists peer hosted by relatives or friends, and 82 of people living in metropolitan France. Tourism attendance at the meeting, which had taken off in the 1990s, at the same time as the extension of air supply, is more rising for ten years. She had even dropped by 32, in 2006, when an outbreak of chikungunya had caused a massive shift of this destination.
The cost of international spotlight by Unesco timely therefore to support the promotion efforts implemented by the structure island tourism meeting of (IRT), emanating from the Regional Council. "Even if the benefits are not easily quantifiable, the decision of Unesco will bring credibility to our communication, explains Pascal Viroleau, Director of the ESRD." An independent agency confirms what we say: our nature is notable worldwide. "The IRT prepares to communicate on the classification world heritage at the meeting of the Shanghai universal exhibition stand, then the Salon Top Resa in September in Paris. "The amount of scientific knowledge gained in the development of the application file will be valued to enrich the educational actions and tourism products", for its part announced national park.
The Park is currently developing its Charter, future management framework of its perimeter. World Heritage registration will give an additional argument advocates of conservation, in a small island to high population growth, where the conflict of uses multiply between urbanization, agriculture, and protection of the natural environment.
The new sites inscribed on world heritage of humanity on lesechos.fr/diaporamalesechos.fr/diaporama
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