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A conference was held in the Lozere town of Meyrueis has re-ignited
hopes that the Causses and Cevennes area of the region might one day be
declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
France has already presented the
candidature of the Causses and Cevennes as one of the world’s most
important areas for pastoralism to the UNESCO judging board in 2006;
the site was denied as the UNESCO authorities felt that there needed to
be more definition of the category of pastoralism in order that
different areas of the world might be accordingly compared and
classified. The conference has thus been organised to work towards a
clearer definition. It is thought that this may lead to the committee
representing the Causses and Cevennes, which cover five departments in
France of which three are in the Languedoc-Roussillon, to resubmit
their application to the UNESCO list next year. Pastoralism, of course,
defines the farming and animal rearing methods that have been used for
centuries in the Causses and Cevennes area as well as in other rural
and nomadic communities across the globe. If the Causses and Cevennes’
candidature is successful, it will be the fourth UNESCO site to feature
in the region.
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