Archaeological park in Minas Gerais competes for UNESCO heritage status

Brazil is among the three archaeological sites in Latin America that are competing among the 30 candidates currently being analyzed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to obtain the title of World Heritage Site, which will be announced by the 18th.

The Brazilian representative is the Peruaçu Caves National Park, in Minas Gerais. With more than 56 thousand hectares in the north of the state, the site is home to 114 archaeological sites with cave paintings and impressive geological formations, as well as a rich biodiversity that unites the biomes of Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest.

The other two Latin American candidates are the Huichol Route in Mexico and the Trans-Isthmic Colonial Route in Panama.

The Mexican site stretches for 500 kilometers and crosses dozens of sacred natural sites of the Wixarika people, including the famous Wirikuta site.

Panama is a fundamental corridor between the Atlantic and the Pacific within the Spanish commercial system active between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Among the proposals under analysis, UNESCO highlights the growing threats to listed sites, which include climate change, mass tourism and even armed conflicts.

The organization reveals that almost 75% of the 1,200 sites recognized as World Heritage Sites are exposed to serious water risks, while more than half of those currently classified as "in danger" suffer the direct consequences of wars.