Preparation of a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination for the Burren in Co Clare is a key priority for the Irish Environment Department, it has been announced

Environment Minister John Gormley is committed to developing a management plan, which would have to be undertaken as part of the nomination process.

The World Heritage List includes 878 properties in 141 countries, which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

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They include monuments and landmarks as diverse at the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House, Machu Picchu in Peru, as well as the historic centres of famous cities such as Venice, Prague, Rome and Paris.

Ireland currently boasts two listed World Heritage Sites; Skellig Michael (1996) and Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne (1993).

Each World Heritage Site is the property of the state on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.

(PR/JM)