Yesterday, June 30, the World Heritage Committee holding its 34th session (25.07-03.08, Brasilia) chaired by Joao Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Minister of Culture of Brazil, has inscribed the Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar) on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of illegal logging and hunting of endangered lemurs on the site and also inscribed the Everglades National Park (United States) on the List of World Heritage in Danger, because of serious and continuing degradation of its aquatic ecosystem. Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) are removed from the List.

The World Heritage Centre of UNESCO has welcomed the support given by the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, to the World Heritage Committee's decision regarding "The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and the Related Group of Monuments" which requested that work on the construction of the Okhta Centre Tower be suspended and that new designs reducing the building's height be considered.

Working meetings between Russian delegation and IUCN experts were held in 18-19 of May in IUCN Head office (Gland, Switzerland) concerning the nomination of Russian site "The Lena Pillars Natural Park". The new edition of nomination will be presented to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre before 1st February 2011.

"The Lena Pillars" nomination presented in January 2008 in the UNESCO World Heritage Centre by the Russia, received negative recommendations from IUCN concerning all the four natural criteria, and was recalled for update before the 33rd Session of the World Heritage Committee.

After consultations in the IUCN Head office it was resolved to nominate "The Lena Pillars" again for the World Heritage status, after making the significant changes in the nomination dossier. In particular, the square of nominated territory is to be considerably expanded, and it is assumed to work out more profound justification of outstanding universal value concerning sedimentary deposits of the Cambrian system, cryogenic karst and aesthetic effect (criteria vii and viii). The nomination will be presented to the World Heritage Centre before 1st February of 2011.

"The Magadansky Reserve" nomination and "The Bikin River Valley" Tentative List submission passed through procedure of interdepartmental harmonization of documents, which was established in January of present year, and going before the submission of documents to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Natural Heritage Protection Fund together with Moscow and Primorsky Kray scientific organizations and NGOs and under the auspices of WWF Amur Branch began to prepare "Bikin River Valley" nomination for the purpose of the "Central Sikhote Alin" property extension.

Within the framework of the UNDP/GEF project "Biodiversity conservation of the Lower Volga wetlands" a medium-term management plan of Astrakhansky State Nature Biosphere Reserve using management GIS was developed by Natural Heritage Protection Fund together with Astrakhansky Reserve, nonprofit organization "Transparent World" and attracted specialists in the context of reserve management and studies.

Francesco Bandarin (Italy), Director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre since 2000, was appointed today UNESCO's new Assistant Director-General for Culture.

Natural Heritage Protection Fund, established on the 4 of April 2000 in compliance with the article 17 of the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of the World Heritage, celebrated its first vast anniversary and summarized its work over a period of 10 years.

Application forms for inscription Kazakh and Kyrgyz parts of the nomination to the Tentative lists of two republics have been developed and submitted to the World Heritage Center as part of the project for the transnational serial nomination "Western Tien-Shan" preparation.

"Zvorykinsky project" of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs under the auspices of the Nation Natural Heritage Protection Council and Interregional public organization for promotion of Natural Heritage in regions "The Nation Natural Heritage" has announced an awards "The Nation Natural Heritage - 2010".