Greece submits Olympus application for World Heritage status to UNESCO

Greece has submitted a preliminary application to UNESCO to include Mount Olympus on its World Heritage List.

The nomination dossier is the result of a collaboration between the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Greek Ministry of Environment and the Organization for Natural Environment and Climate Change.

“We promote the inclusion of Olympus in the catalog of natural landscapes of UNESCO, thus strengthening the sustainable development of our country,” said the Minister of Culture. Lina Mendoni.

The application file will be evaluated by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and after feedback has been sent back to Greece, its final form will be submitted in early 2023.

The results will be announced next summer.

Litochoro. Photo source: Visit Greece

The inclusion of an area on the UNESCO World Heritage List has significant benefits for the local community and economy. If registered, a site can gain notoriety and tourist traffic while being protected by strict preservation and management rules.

“Olympus offers an ideal combination of nature, mythology and history. It is an internationally recognizable name linked to Greek mythology, but also stands out for its valuable biodiversity,” added Mendoni.

The Olympus region is considered “a botanist’s paradise” with 1,700 species and subspecies of plants representing 25% of Greek flora. Its 26 endemic plants constitute the largest number of endemic plants found in any other mountain in Greece.

The UNESCO World Heritage List currently has 1,154 sites in 167 countries. An area must meet certain criteria related to elements of intangible cultural heritage, geological features, high biodiversity and the existence of important ecological and biological processes supporting the evolution of life, in order to be included. in the list.

Today, only two Greek sites combining all these elements are included in the list: Meteora and Mount Athos. Sixteen other culture-related sites in Greece, including the Acropolis, are also part of the UNESCO list.

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