26 February 2009 AMMAN - Despite their heightened profile, the Kingdom's World Heritage Sites still require protection and have yet to reach their full economic potential, tourism industry representatives said on Wednesday.

The Middle East region boasts 65, or 7 per cent, of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and the Kingdom is home to three of them: Petra, Qasr Amra and Um Rassas.

The country faces a host of difficulties in preserving these sites and enabling the community to benefit from the Kingdom's heritage, requiring a balance between responsible tourism and preservation, according to World Heritage Alliance (WHA) Partnership Manager Barbara Harrington.

"It is not always clear what type of impact tourism has on World Heritage Sites," she told The Jordan Times yesterday, noting that threats to heritage sites across the world have ranged from ecological and economic to the number of visitors.

With the growing fame of the rose-red city of Petra in light of its selection as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, both the government and private sector will have to work together to preserve important sources of revenue, history and pride, said Harrington, who met with tourism industry leaders in Amman yesterday.

"What we are talking about is protecting tourism assets for generations and generations to come," she said, adding that when used correctly, tourism can be used as a tool to promote protection of heritage sites.

She called on private sector representatives to partner with the WHA, to which Jordan became the second signatory country in 2005, in order to streamline efforts to preserve sites.

"There is a sense of urgency that is almost now or never, and it is time for stakeholders to unify," Harrington said.

According to Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association CEO Nizar Adarbeh, tour operators and other private sector entities are anxious to ensure heritage sites are preserved.

Currently, 16 sites across the Kingdom are on the nomination list for the UNESCO distinction, ranging from Um Jimal in the north to Shobak Castle in the south, and even cultural areas such as downtown Salt.

Professor Moawiyah Ibrahim, Jordan's representative to the World Heritage Committee, said three potential sites have been prioritised to be added to the list: The Roman city of Jerash, the archaeologically rich site of Pella and either Wadi Rum or the Dana Biosphere, the inclusion of which would mark the country's first natural world heritage site.

A UNESCO committee will tour the sites, an eight-month process requiring extensive research and interaction with local communities before making a decision on inscription.

Ibrahim noted that these sites face several challenges, including restoration, preservation, community encroachment and capacity to sustain heavy tourist traffic.

Also on the tentative list are the ancient city of Abila, the Umayyad settlement at Qastal, the wetlands of Azraq, ancient Gadara, the Mujib Nature Reserve, Qasr Mushatta, Qasr Bshir, Bethany-Beyond the-Jordan and Lot's cave.

Also during yesterday's meeting, sponsored by the USAID-supported Jordan Tourism Development Project, WHA and the Jordan River Foundation signed a $60,000 grant agreement to support four community-based cooperatives in and around Petra to aid local residents and encourage protection of the site.

Launched by the United Nations Foundation, the WHA ames to preserve and protect UNESCO World Heritage sites while promoting responsible tourism.

By Taylor Luck

© Jordan Times 2009