Nine New Zealand places, including the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the remains of a voyaging waka in the Chatham Islands, have been put on the country's tentative list for Unesco World Heritage status, the NZ Herald reports. The Department of Conservation submitted the sites after an expert panel appointed by the conservation minister chose them from applications opened last year.
New Zealand currently has three World Heritage sites: Tongariro National Park, Te Wāhipounamu in the south-west of the South Island, and the subantarctic islands. A place on the tentative list is only a first step. Groups behind each site must now prepare formal nominations showing international significance, protection measures and community support, a process that usually takes five to 10 years. Kororāreka-Russell was considered but has been left off for now.
Source: NZ Herald