Richtersveld gets World Heritage Site status

The Richtersveld community will today officially receive the World Heritage Site certificate

The Richtersveld community in the Northern Cape will today officially receive the World Heritage Site certificate from the department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme.

The programme aims to catalogue, name, and conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.

The 160 000 hectares of land won World Heritage site status last year in New Zealand. The Namaqua community in the Richtersveld says they can't wait to utilise the Heritage Site to the advantage of the community. They say the site will help them to preserve the dying Nam Culture and tradition. The area is the eighth such site in the country.

Richtersveld is a mountainous desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains. The northern part of the area was proclaimed a National Park in 1991 after 18 years of negotiation with the local Nama people, who continue to live and graze their livestock in the area. It has an area of 1 624 45 km2.