The Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, a centuries-old porcelain center in eastern China and tidal flats in western South Korea were among several sites added to the World Heritage List yesterday at a UN committee meeting in South Korea.The UNESCO meetings in Busan, which continue through Wednesday, are reviewing dozens of other nominations, including the D-Day landing beaches in France, Mount Olympus in Greece, and the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara.The Okefenokee Swamp is regarded as one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems, encompassing a vast network of wetlands that supports exceptional biodiversity and serves as the source of two major rivers.
Visitors paddle through a river in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Fargo, Georgia, on April 6, 2022.
Its largely undisturbed peat beds preserve a 5,000-year record of environmental change, making the swamp a globally significant natural habitat and a valuable source of information on long-term environmental change, a UNESCO description said.While the World Heritage designation places the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge alongside iconic US landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, some locals have opposed the listing, fearing it would increase UN involvement in managing the site.
