Namibia: "Namib Sand Sea" submitted for nomination as a World Heritage Site

update (19 Feb 2013): Namibian newspaper "New Era" is again reporting about the possible declaration of the Namib Sand Sea as a World Heritage Site in its online edition (19 Feb 2013). According to the newspaper, an UNESCO evaluation mission visited the Namib Sand Sea in September 2012 and also submitted a report to the Board of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but will only by June 2013 let Namibia know if site will get declared a World Heritage Site.

Namibia's newspaper "New Era" is reporting in its online edition (17 April 2012) that Namibia has submitted the "Namib Sand Sea" for nomination as a World Heritage Site. The newspaper qoutes the Chairperson of the Namibia National Commission for UNESCO, Dr Marius Kudumo, saying that the nomination dossier has already been sent to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which is evaluating natural heritage nominations, and that it is expected to be considered by the World Heritage Committee in 2013.

The "Namib Sand Sea" covers an area of about 34,000km² and lies within the Namib-Naukluft National Park, south of the Kuiseb River in central Namibia. It is one of the world's oldest and largest sand deserts and known for its vast panoramas of majestic dune-scapes.
Twyfelfontein, which was declared as a World Heritage Site in 2007, is currently Namibia's only official World Heritage Site.
To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the     "Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention". Please visit the UNESCO World Heritage Centre's website for more information about the critiria for selection.