Khor Al Udaid, the inland sea area in South Qatar, is to be nominated for Unesco's World Heritage list.
Qatar's Supreme Council for Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR) is sponsoring a feasibility study to ascertain whether Qatar's most popular tourist attraction abides by the criteria to make it on the list.
A nomination file will be presented to Unesco's 21-member World Heritage Committee, an independent panel of judges that will decide whether the tourist area will be added to the world's most beautiful natural treasures.
SCENR has been studying the project since April in coordination with Unesco's regional office in Doha. Darwish Ahmad of SCENR is heading the project, which was launched
on Sunday during a meeting with Unesco representatives.
Khor Al Udaid could become the second site in the Gulf region to be included in the World Natural Heritage list after the Hawar Islands in Bahrain.
Khor Al Udaid covers the southeast region of Qatar's peninsula up to the border with Saudi Arabia. It is characterised by spectacular barchans (crescent-shaped sand dunes).
A popular tourist attraction, Khor Al Udaid has witnessed an increasing number of visitors and tour operators, who organise camps and rally expeditions, over the past few years.
A team of experts from Corbo Ocean, the agency in charge of conducting the study, will survey the area and collect and study samples. Unesco is trying to encourage the identification and protection of cultural and natural heritage sites around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.
The international agency embodied this principle in the international treaty - called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage - that was adopted in 1972.
Gulf News
