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"Putorana Plateau" nomination was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List

On the 8th day of proceedings of the 34th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which take place in Brasilia, the Russian natural property "Putorana Plateau" was inscribed on the World Heritage List. "Putorana Plateau" (the territory within the boundaries of the State Natural Reserve "Putoransky") became the 9th Russian natural property on the List and the first Russian property since 2004.

 

"Putorana Plateau" appears tens of deep canyons, countless rivers and streams with dozens waterfalls, more than 25 thousand lakes with enormous pure fresh water-supply. Vast areas of arctic and boreal landscapes remain virgin here. "Putorana Plateau" is a generous contribute of the Russian Federation into the public "humanity charity box", a gift to next generations. These steps certainly are positive to the image of the country.

"Putorana Plateau" was inscribed to the List in accordance with two criteria of its outstanding universal value: vii - contains superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance, and ix - shows outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals.

The decision of the Committee claims the following confirmation of the outstanding universal value:

Comprising a vast area of 1,887,251 ha, the property is located in the centre of the Putorana Plateau in the northern part of Central Siberia. The part of the plateau inscribed on the World Heritage list harbours a complete set of subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range, including pristine taiga, forest tundra, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems. The combination of remoteness, naturalness and strict protection ensure that ecological and biological processes continue at a large scale with minimal human influence. The property provides a dramatic demonstration of ecological processes, including the interactions between healthy populations of a full range of Arctic fauna. A major reindeer migration crosses part of the property. The property is also one of the very few centres of plant species richness in the Arctic.

Criterion (vii): A vast and diverse landscape of striking natural beauty, the Putorana Plateau is pristine and not affected by human infrastructure. Its superlative natural features include an extensive area of layered basalt traps that has been dissected by dozens of deep canyons; countless cold water rivers and creeks with thousands of waterfalls; more than 25,000 lakes characterized by a fjord-like formation that is associated with a large variation in the relief. The immense arctic and boreal landscapes remain intact with carpets of lichens and forest that are unusual at such northern latitudes.

Criterion (ix): The property displays a comprehensive set of ecological and biological processes associated with its diverse arctic and subarctic ecosystems. Its bio-geographical location, on the border of the tundra and taiga biomes and at the transition between Western and Eastern Siberian floras, makes the property one of only a few centres of plant species richness in the Arctic. The combination of landscape diversity, remoteness, naturalness and degree of protection are extraordinary. In addition, the property may provide valuable evidence on the impacts of climate change to large-scale natural arctic ecosystems if proper monitoring and research take place.

"Putorana Plateau" nomination was prepared inside of the Russian-German intergovernmental arrangement on the "Environmental protection collaboration" in the period of 2000-2009 under the auspices of WWF and UNDP/GEF project "Taimyr biodiversity conservation". Natural Heritage Protection Fund stands as coordinator and executor of the work. Reserve staff, scientists of the Institute of Geography of the RAS, Russian Geographical Society and Russian Cultural and Natural Heritage Research Institute named after D. Likhachev participated in nomination preparing from the Russian part, scientists of the Technical University of Dresden - from the German part.

 

  • Comprehensive text of the Decision of the 34th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in regard to "Putorana Plateau" nomination