Today, the fifth day of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee was marked by the inscription of Tajik National Park (Pamir Mountains) on the List, which is the first natural property in the Republic of Tajikistan. The outstanding universal value of Tajik National Park was recognized by the Committee in terms of such criteria as vii (superlative natural phenomena and exceptional aesthetic importance) and viii (significant geomorphic or physiographic features).

Tajik National Park nomination files were developed between 2006 and 2012 by the experts of the National Park and Tajik Academy of Sciences with support of the World Heritage Centre. Mr. A. Butorin — President of the Natural Heritage Protection Fund — acted as advisory on behalf of UNESCO; Dr. Hartmut Jungius provided assistance on behalf of IUCN.

Here is the official brief description with regard to the outstanding universal value of Tajik National Park:
Tajik National Park (2,611,674 ha in area) encompasses almost the entire Pamir Mountains, the third highest mountain ecosystem in the world after the Himalaya and Karakorum Mountains. The Pamir Mountains lie at the centre of the ‘Pamir Knot’, the term used by geographers to describe the tangle of the highest mountain ranges on the Eurasian continent. Huge tectonic forces stemming from the collision of the Indian-Australian plate with the Eurasian Plate have progressively thrown up the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Kunlun and Tien Shan – all radiating out from the Pamir Mountains. Along with the Karakoram Mountains, the Pamir region is one of the most tectonically-active locations in the world.

Tajik National Park stands out as a very large protected area, with a stark treeless landscape of exceptional natural beauty. The outstanding scenic values are enhanced by the landform juxtaposition of heavily-glaciated high peaks and high plateaux with an alpine desert character. The property contains a number of superlative natural phenomena, including: Fedchenko Glacier (the longest glacier in the world outside of the Polar Regions); Lake Sarez (a very high, deep lake impounded just over a century ago by a severe earthquake which generated a huge landslide forming the Uzoi Dam, the highest natural dam in the world); and Karakul Lake, likely to be the world’s highest large lake of meteoric origin.