Taj Mahal, pyramids ... Kerikeri Stone Store?

Three of Northland's cultural, historical and environmental jewels may rank alongside the likes of Stonehenge and the Pyramids in the crown of World Heritage status.
But cultural junkies and regional development hounds will have to wait a long time before reaping - or even being able to measure - any benefits from Northland's backyard being filled with some of the most significant protected sites in the world.
The sites the Government is promoting on a tentative list are the Kororipo-Kerikeri Basin, Waitangi Treaty House grounds and Whakarua Moutere, the islands including the Poor Knights Marine Reserve.
Also on the list of eight potential New Zealand sites Conservation Minister Chris Carter announced during Unesco's World Heritage committee current meeting in Christchurch are the Kermadec Islands, part of a huge land and sea area under Treaty of Waitangi claim by Ngati Kuri.
The Northland cluster makes up half the list of eight potential New Zealand sites - part of 45 worldwide - the committee will consider in the future. That tentative list comprises 11 natural sites, 32 cultural sites, and two "mixed" sites. "It's not about time-depth, and we know that in world history terms New Zealand is very young," New Zealand Historic Places Trust area manager Stuart Park said.
"Definitely, Kerikeri's historic precinct and Waitangi have universal values - which is the phrase used in the Unesco convention - because of the amazing impact they represent between two worlds meeting. Arguably, it's the shallowness of the time depth, how recently in history that occurred, that increases their significance and makes them unique."
But Mr Park warned years of planning and compliance were ahead and "doorstep-sized" books of documents to be produced before sites were promoted from the tentative list to World Heritage status.
Brian Roberts, chief executive of Enterprise Northland, said that while it might be years before Northland made the list, if at all, the heightened profile World Heritage could lend the region would be priceless in terms of social and economic development. "A lot of people still don't realise what Northland has as far as significant sites on a world scale," he said.
The other New Zealand sites are Kahurangi National Park which includes Farewell Spit and the Waikoropupu Springs, adding much of Fiordland to the existing Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area, the Napier Art Deco precinct and the Auckland Volcanic Field.
The Unesco World Heritage committee is meeting in Christchurch this week for its 31st international conference. Under review will be the state of the 830 sites on the current list. Among sites that might be shunted on to the endangered list are Ecuador's Galapagos Islands and the Tower of London - the first because tourism is threatening its environment, the second because of development pressures around its location.
Exceptional SITES
Unesco's World Heritage List is a register of the planet's 830 most outstanding cultural and natural heritage sites. Covering 184 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, the list includes man-made and natural wonders such as Egypt's pyramids, India's Taj Mahal, Peru's Machu Picchu and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Getting a site on the list brings a huge boost in profile and tourism - but also means strict obligations for the host country.
New Zealand currently has three sites on the list:
• Te Wahipounamu (Southwest New Zealand)
• Tongariro National Park
• The Sub-Antarctic Islands
The Government wants to nominate eight more, three of which are in Northland.
They are, in order of priority:
• Kahurangi National Park
• The Fiords of Fiordland (an addition to Te Wahipounamu site)
• Napier Art Deco Historic Precinct
• Kerikeri Basin Historic Precinct
• Waitangi Treaty House Grounds Historic Precinct
• Kermadec Islands and Marine Reserve
• Auckland Volcanic Field
• Whakarua Moutere (Northeast Islands, including Poor Knights)
- Data from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
Go to http://www.unesco.org/