“Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians & Other Regions of Europe”. This is the latest addition to the UNESCO natural world heritage locations list. One of the locations covered with this umbrella-term inscription lies in the Czech Republic. It is the “Jizerskohorské bučiny”, a beech forest located in northern Czechia. While Czech Republic is certainly not new to UNESCO’s list, the addition of this forest to the natural world heritage list marks the first mention of the Czech Republic in UNESCO’s natural section. The Czech Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec has proclaimed that this news makes the Czech Republic “A part of the heritage of all of mankind”. Furthermore, he shared that he believes that the addition of the 27km2 forest is a recognition of Czech efforts to preserve the nature on a global scale. Together with the addition of the latest of the 15UNESCO cultural heritage sites, this achievement gives the Czech Republic a boost in tourism appeal according to him. Overall, Minister Brabec views this as a great success. Now, a natural site in our country gets the same recognition as natural wonders such as the Yellowstone National Park, lake Baikal or the Great Barrier Reef.
