By Barry Allen
MIRI: The Sarawak Museum Department hopes that Niah National Park will be recognised as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2024.
Its director Tazudin Mohtar said in the event it would be the second World Heritage Site after Mulu National Park which was declared in 2000.
According to him, documentation will be sent to Unesco next year for further evaluation.
“After the assessment is made, if everything goes smoothly, maybe in 2024, Niah National Park will be declared as a new heritage site in Sarawak after Mulu,” he said.
Tazudin said this during preparations for the International Conference on Niah National Park for World Heritage Site Nomination at Pullman Miri Hotel yesterday.
The conference, he said, will involve researchers who have carried out research and excavation work in the Niah Cave Complex and the surrounding area.
“The partnership gained in this conference will be used to further strengthen the Niah National Park’s nomination document to Unesco which also includes the culture and nature sectors,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Forest Corporation (SFC) chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton said he is committed to ensuring that the Niah National Park’s ecosystem is consistent with the criteria set by Unesco.
He believes that the awarding of the world heritage site status will elevate Sarawak’s identity as a preferred location for the archaeological and research community.
“Many things have been done for that purpose and one of them is the preparation of nomination documents which has entered the final phase.
“The Niah National Park with its cave complex is one of the criteria that should be taken seriously in terms of its value which not only has a great meaning to Sarawak, Malaysia but the world community because its discovery involves archaeological findings between 40,000 and 60,000 years old,” he added.
The international conference will be held from September 5-8.
