 |
At its previous meeting in Quebec a year earlier, the committee asked Hungary for reports on the state of the Tokaj region, with a view of a planned biomass power plant in the city of Szerencs, as well as on the Old Jewish Quarter in Budapest, because of developments that might threaten its historical character.
The committee acknowledged the impact study Hungary made of the planned power plant and asked the country to start a dialogue, based on the study that takes into account the visual, environmental and ecological effects of the plant with special regard to the region's status as a World Heritage site. The committee asked the country to report on the situation again by February 1, 2011 in order that it may assess the report at its 35th session.
The committee took into account a review by Hungarian officials of demolition permits issued for historic buildings in the Old Jewish Quarter and welcomed steps to more closely examine development plans for the area. It asked for a report on the situation to be submitted by February 1, 2011, too.
The committee also acknowledged the receipt of a joint report by Hungary and Austria on planned investments in the Fertö/Neusiedler Lake area, which both countries share, by the deadline on February 1, 2009. The committee had requested the report from the Austrians, who plan investments in their part of the area.
The World Heritage List programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on November 16, 1972. Since then, more than 800 sites have been included on the list. Hungary became a participant in the programme in 1985.
Sites in Hungary inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List are Andrássy Avenue; the view of Budapest along the Danube; the capital's Castle District; the area around Fertö, or Neusiedlersee, on Hungary's border with Austria; the Hortobágy National Park, better known as the "Puszta" in Hungarian; the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma; and the famous Tokaj wine region. On UNESCO's World Heritage List of natural wonders are the caves of Aggtelek, which Hungary shares with Slovakia.
Source: Múlt-kor
