Public feedback invited on Botanic Gardens management plan for UNESCO bid

Channel NewsAsia 20 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: The National Heritage Board (NHB) and National Parks Board (NParks) have unveiled their proposed five-year site management plan for the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

A joint statement from the three parties issued Wednesday said the plan is part of the dossier that it will submit to UNESCO for the Gardens' World Heritage Site nomination.

Members of the public are invited to contribute their feedback on the plan.

Hard copies of the plan can be obtained from the three visitor service counters at the Gardens and the soft copy is available online at the Gardens' website.

The statement said where possible, feedback from the public will be incorporated into the nomination dossier, which will submitted to UNESCO by February 2014.

The World Heritage Committee will then deliberate on the nomination and decide if the Gardens is worthy of inscription as a World Heritage Site.

The statement also said that NHB and NParks have received over 100 feedback submissions on the nomination document -- the part of the dossier which was already made available to the public for feedback in September.

Most of the comments received either express support for the Gardens' nomination, or share memories of time spent at the Gardens.

The Gardens is Singapore's first nomination for inscription as a World Heritage Site.

- CNA/ec