Will Mont Blanc become a World Heritage Site?
In the collective imagination, Mont Blanc has a place alongside the Galapagos Islands and Kilimanjaro. However, to this day, it is the only mountain range that does not benefit from rigorous protection or worldwide recognition. In five or ten years all that could change if UNESCO decides to class Europe's highest mountain as a World Heritage Site.
UNESCO adopted a convention in 1972 to make a provision for sites considered to be of outstanding value to humanity and international cooperation ensures their protection. Of the 730 Word Heritage sites, 144 are natural, rather than man-made, and 57 of these are mountains, including Mont Perdu in the Pyrenees and the Rockies in Canada. In order for a site to be listed the countries concerned must commit to its protection and conservation.
It was the organisation ProMontBlanc, a federation of the three countries spanned by the Mont Blanc range that submitted the site's candidature. The group aims to unite the French, Swiss and Italians to ensure the protection of Mont Blanc, as decisions taken locally are often motivated by factors other than environmental considerations. This problem is highlighted on the French side where tourism is the main commercial activity. The vice-president of ProMontBlanc, Jean-Paul Trichet, maintains that a balance needs to be stuck between exploitation and preservation. The Mayor of Chamonix has shown a modicum of enthusiasm, while pointing out that other towns are opposed to the project. For Les Contamines the classification would be a real constraint to development and the Mayor of Saint Gervais apparently does not see any merit in it at all.
Monsieur Trichet's ultimate objective is not to obtain a prestigious label but to enforce strict management of the area with regard to regional development. He is concerned about private transport, fossil fuels, ski lift expansion, noise pollution and the heavy goods vehicles that trudge daily through the Mont Blanc tunnel. He admits there is a long way to go to convince all the parties involved that classification as a World Heritage Site can only be a good thing.
Source: Le Dauphine Libéré
