From SunNewsNetwork.ca

Manitoba UNESCO bid deferred for at least a year

May 3rd, 2013

FROM THE LEFT - SOPHIA RABLIAUSKAS, SPOKESPERSON FOR PIMACHIOWIN AKI, CHIEF ROLAND HAMILTON OF BLOODVEIN FIRST NATION, ELDER JOHN MCDONALD, PREMIER GREG SELINGER AND MINISTER ERIC ROBINSON. THE GROUP ASSEMBLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE APPLICATION FOR UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS FOR A HUGE AREA OF BOREAL STATUS WAS COMPLETE.

• KEVIN KING | QMI AGENCY

WINNIPEG -- The province will have to wait at least another year to find out whether UNESCO will accept its bid to have a massive intact boreal forest declared a world heritage site.

The UNESCO advisory committee says it needs more details to determine whether the 33,400-square kilometre area on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, known as Pimachiowin Aki, qualifies for the designation, which the province says would attract tourists from around the world and help protect the environment.

"We were certainly disappointed, but heartened by what we see in the report as far as positive feedback," Bruce Bremner, the assistant deputy minister for Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, said Friday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which evaluate World Heritage Site bids, say the deferral will give UNESCO a chance to re-evaluate whether the site should be included, or if it should be evaluated under the "natural space" or "cultural space" categories.

The Manitoba government has committed or spent more than $14 million on the project, while Ontario has put up money as well.

The project, nearly 10 years in the making, is a collaboration of five First Nations with the two provincial governments.

"My understanding is the members are very committed to completing this project," Bremner said. "Everybody feels this is a doable thing and we'll be continuing to work over the next year to make that happen.

Click here to Visit the proposed Heritage site web site at http://www.pimachiowinaki.org/