QUEBEC CITY (AFP) — A sweeping part of the coral reef and lagoon in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia was added on Monday to UNESCO's list of world heritage sites, officials said.
"They did not change a thing about the proposal; the text was approved exactly as it was. So we are delighted," said Isabelle Ohlen, vice president of the New Caledonia Congress which lobbied for the inclusion.
A spokesman for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization confirmed the addition to the world heritage list, marking the 33rd French site to appear therein.
The Caledonia reef is only the second purely natural French site on the list, after the Gulf of Porto in Corsica, France.
A significant delegation from the Pacific archipelago made the trip to Quebec City to present its bid to UNESCO.
The 21-member World Heritage Committee is meeting until Thursday and considering another 40 candidate sites to its World List.
"We are the first overseas site and I hope the first in a long line of them because there are so many magnificent things there, particularly with regard to exceptional biodiversity," she said.
The New Caledonia lagoon comprises the second largest continuous coral reef in the world after Australia's. The entire reef stretches over 23,000 square kilometers (8,108 square miles), 15,000 square kilometers (5,800 square miles) of which was recognized by UNESCO.
UNESCO's World Heritage List has some 855 sites in more than 140 countries around the world.
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