UNESCO allays concerns over world heritage sites in Laos
World heritage sites in Laos are now safe from being placed on the UNESCO red list because the Lao government and people have worked hard to safeguard the nation's cultural heritage, officials said on Wednesday. UNESCO recently an-nounced it has decided not to place Lao world heritage sites on its red list, but warned the country to strictly follow its recommendations to preserve the sites. The red list is a catalogue of world heritage sites that risk losing their designation because the relevant bodies have failed to maintain or protect the sites. Officials from the relevant sectors gathered at a meeting of the National Committee on World Heritage in Vientiane yesterday, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and committee president Mr Somsavat Lengsavad, to discuss what need to be done in the future. Laos has two world heritage listed sites. The ancient city of Luang Prabang in northern Laos was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, followed by the Vat Phou complex in Champassak province in 2001. Since the declaration of its status as a world heritage site, new buildings and unplanned developments have been reported in the town of Luang Prabang. Some local residents have sold their traditional houses to businesspeople and moved to the suburbs, with the new owners then converting the houses into hotels, restaurants and other facilities to accommodate the growing tourism trade. Experts are concerned that if the issue continues, Laos could be placed on the red list. Director General of the Heritage Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism Dr Thongsa Xayavongkhamdy said the problem is now a minor one after authorities began to strongly enforce the law. UNESCO has recommended that Luang Prabang authorities improve urban planning regulations by limiting the height of new buildings and protecting marshes and farmland in the town. Local authorities are reviewing regulations to ensure they abide by UNESCO requirements. One of the issues involving the Vat Phou complex is that local authorities have built a road through an area of the heritage listed site to facilitate access. The relevant authorities have agreed to relocate the road based on UNESCO's recommendations. Dr Thongsa said UNESCO would send a team to Laos within a year to visit the site and discuss the relocation of the road. The government attaches great importance to safeguarding the world heritage sites to attract more tourists to Laos and generate income for local people. The New York Times put Laos at the top of its “Places to Go” list in 2008. Luang Prabang received the top award for “best tourist destination” for three consecutive years from 2006-08 based on a survey ofWanderlust travel magazine's worldwide readership. Luang Prabang received the honour again in 2010 and 2011. More and more tourists are visiting southern Laos. Over 1.2 million people visited Champassak province in the last five years (2006-10) and, of these, 300,000 visited Vat Phou. By Somsack Pongkhao Vientianetimes
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Since the declaration of its status as a world heritage site, new buildings and unplanned developments have been reported in the town of Luang Prabang?
How is that possible, don't people have to comply with the rules and regulations of the appropriate planning authority? If they didn't then it's very simple just tear the structure down.