Sharjah: The emirate of Sharjah will submit a bid to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) to have the Heart of Sharjah area be included on the Unesco’s preliminary list of World Heritage sites.
The Sharjah Executive Council discussed the application at its regular meeting, which was chaired by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council, held on Tuesday.
The council discussed a memorandum submitted by Abdullah Mohammad Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Information, on listing the Heart of Sharjah area on the list of the World Heritage Sites.
Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, is closely following up the emirate’s bid dossier. The department of culture has already prepared the dossier.
The Heart of Sharjah is located in the old heritage and historical area in the centre of the city of Sharjah, and it comprises the most traditional and historical sites in the emirate.
Earlier, the Unesco had recognised Sharjah’s Sir Bu Nair island on the list of its preliminary World Heritage sites in 2012.
The island’s delicate ecosystem has been declared a protected area and added to a global list of unspoilt wildlife habitats of international importance. Sir Bu Nair, about 112 kilometres off the coast of Sharjah, is now covered by the Ramsar Convention, a treaty for the preservation of wetlands signed by the UAE in 2007.
The pearl-shaped island is the second area of Sharjah to be given protection, after Al Ghafiya mangroves in Kalba on the east coast.
His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, made Sir Bu Nair a nature reserve in 2000. It had been a camp for pearl divers.
