I found interesting articles about colonial Yangon, the old capital of Myanmar. Its colonial heritage is quite amazing, one day it may become a WHS with other world class site like Bagan, Mandalay and Schwedagon Pagoda

http://au.news.yahoo.com/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/14216177/clock-ticks-for-yan gons-colonial-treasures/

http://www.bangkokpost.com/arts-and-culture/book/302060/snapshot-of-the-past

It is presumably NOT accidental that Myanmar's T List contains absolutely NO "Colonial" sites. Burma/Myanmar's history since independence has been significantly to erase the colonial past. Not particularly by destroying it but by down-playing or ignoring it - and not just in "physical" aspects either but in social/political ones too e.g The downplaying of English over many years and the refusal to join the Commonwealth. It is interesting to compare and contrast this aspect in the various ex-colonies and consider the reasons for the different approaches. We have already discussed why Korea has been unwilling to celebrate remnants of its Japanese colonisation. India is a good example of a country which has been willing to rejoice in such aspects - as has Malaysia. But not Pakistan or Bangla Desh.

I don't think it is solely a lack of suitable sites but also relates to the country's psyche and confidence.

An article about potential Myanmar WHS, few info but provide some list of places especially natural sites.

http://www.mizzima.com/mizzima-news/world/item/10660-unesco-eyes-myanmar-for-potentia l-world-heritage-sites

The BBC is currently running a series of programs about the Wildlife of Myanmar. To beef up its "credentials" (you can't just "do" a wildlife program nowadays) it took along scientists doing "real" scientific investigation and claimed that one of its objectives was to try to establish whether the population of wild elephant in an area was viable enough to be able to justifiy further preservation efforts.

Although the BBC Web site isn't very specific about the areas they filmed in at least one of them was in the Arakan mountains where the Nat Ma Taung NP is situated - referred to in the above list of WHS possibles.

I know that non UK IP addresses can't access BBC iPlayer but, if you are interested, you may be able to use a proxy server service to see the series - or else just look at the clips and background!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01hsbr2

You can also watch it at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK19MqgWDdQ

I was also very interested in the series, and there are some great shots of course. But in general the area does seem to lack a great variety in wildlife and/or the BBC crew was a bit uninspired.

New information on potential sites

www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1403/S00089/myanmar-sites-identified-as-top-world-heritage- priorities.htm

After Pyu Cities, the next nomination is Inwa

http://www.philstar.com/world/2014/03/16/1301574/myanmar-tries-nominate-one-more-anci ent-city-world-heritage-list

Out of interest do we know why Myanmar isn't currently pursuing the inscription of its most obvious sites: Bagan, Inle Lake and Schwedagon Pagoda?

Is it to do with management and conservation concerns or is there something else to it?

It just seems a little odd to pursue some smaller scale sites first though perhaps that is the outcome of the move towards extra in-depth domination dossiers.

I hope my reviews from late 2012 of Inle and Pagan indicate some of the issues which Myanmar will need to overcome before they are ready.

Regarding Inle - I refer in its review to the environmental problems which it faces. I have found a few recent documents about it which show that UNESCO has been involved across 3+ years in trying to clean the place up in preparation for its addition to the World Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage lists. It appears that priority for the moment has been given to the former – but phrases used in the following documents do indicate that WHS status could still be on the cards at a later date. How realistic the optimism of the comment taken from the final document below really is - time will tell!!

a. This, initiation document for a project titled the "Inle Lake Conservation and Rehabilitation Project" is unfortunately of unclear date (possibly, from some dates in the report, late 2011 or early 2012??)
http://www.unesco.or.id/rfp/Attachment%20C-Project%20Document.pdf
It states - "UNESCO will work with UNDP to inscribe Inle Lake as a biosphere reserve and also carryout technical assessment based on the World Heritage Natural Site Guidelines as the lake has a potential to be enlisted as a World Heritage Site."
And
"UNESCO will undertake a technical (natural /cultural heritage site) assessment of Inle Lake which has the potential to be nominated to the World Heritage Site. Recent concerns about the ecological sustainability of the lake and its landscape have been raised. The Department of Archaeology has suggested that this site should be considered as having Outstanding Universal Value under criteria (iii), (iv) and (vi) of the World Heritage Convention (reflecting "traces of a civilization that has disappeared", being an "excellent example of a typology of architecture, urbanism or landscape at particular stage of human history", and speaking to "important historical events or living traditions)".

b. This, dated 24 Aug 2013, is the "mid term report" for the project described above
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDQQFjAD&url=ht tp%3A%2F%2Ferc.undp.org%2Fevaluationadmin%2Fdownloaddocument.html%3Fdocid%3D7577&ei=8 JbXU76eOMPnywOQuYLABg&usg=AFQjCNG-ufyf4idP6_OGiXcJRIg46g9TBQ&bvm=bv.71954034,d.bGQ
It states - "The two strongest elements of Project design are its alliance with UNESCO to study the possibility of listing the Inle Lake basin as a World Heritage Site (since the technical assessment in 2012 (Ed -this??) has changed to the creation of a Biosphere Reserve)"

c. This decision made before Aug 2013 to go for World Biosphere reserve status is confirmed in this report of Jun 2013
www.elevenmyanmar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2588:unesco-studie s-inle-lake-to-enlist-as-biosphere-reserve&catid=44&Itemid=384
"The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have started making surveys to enlist the Inle Lake as a biosphere reserve for conservation and sustainable development, according to an official from the Inle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary."

d. And, finally, this, dated 10 Jun 2014
http://www.mm.undp.org/content/myanmar/en/home/presscenter/speeches/2014/06/10/openin g-remarks-by-country-director-toily-kurbanov-at-the-knowledge-sharing-workshop-on-lak e-conservation-management-practices-/
"we are expecting any day the news from UNESCO that Inle Lake is approved as a Biosphere Reserve of global stature and importance."

Regarding Bagan
a. The UNESCO DG visited the site in Aug 2012 and this UNESSCO news puff indicates the sort of work ongoing to prepare Bagan for nomination - no indication that it will be concluded in the short term! http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/924
b. This is a more recent news report on ongoing work. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/UNESCO-to-help-Myanmar-list-monuments-in -ancient-B-30237264.html

Thanks for that, and yeah I am just reading through your reviews now they provide plenty of good background.

I take it the Shwedagon pagoda isn't showing any movement at all towards listing.

Just came back from Myanmar, I asked my Myanmar friends and a guide why Shwedagon is not World Heritage site. I got the same answer that there was a discussion on this matter by the junta in the same time of Bagan nomination, but a lot of member of junta objected the proposal, also the temple committee who take care the Shwedagon opposed the plan as they believed UNESCO will come to manage Shwedagon, and UNESCO is foreigner and not buddhist so they don't trust UNESCO.

So I asked why this objection not happen with the recent Pyu site and Bagan nomination. The answer I got was both sites are directly managed by the government, most sites are ruin and not a living temple, so there is no committee who run the site. Another reason I got was that both sites are Burmese, while shwedagon has more complicate of Mon people culture. (Well the latter reason was quite crazy as I know Bago (the cultural center of Mon is one of the tentative list)

These are not official reasons but give some knowledge on how locals think on this matter.

Myanmar to nominate natural Spirulina lake for world heritage inclusion

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/140917/myanmar-nominate-na tural-spirulina-lake-world-heritage-inclu

From the same news "Meanwhile, the cultural relics and religious buildings, located in Natma Taung National Park, proposed by Myanmar for inclusion in UNESCO's World Heritage List, has also been put on tentative list and is to be examined in coming years by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee."

Interesting. In my review of Bagan from 2 years ago I noted this -
"From its religious and cultural viewpoint Myanmar regards it as far more important to restore a Buddhist monument back to religious use with a Buddha statue than to worry about the niceties of brick manufacture and stucco work – and who is to say it is wrong!" ......
"So will it ever get inscribed? Yes of course, but a lot of negotiation will have to take place and UNESCO will have to accept some things it doesn't like. But each year which passes without inscription will result in more changes taking place over which UNESCO has no leverage."

I see the linked article above includes
"The Irrawaddy understands that much of the closed-door discussions during the first two days of the Unesco consultation meeting focused on how these controversial restoration works could be justified in the nomination of Bagan for a World Heritage listing.
A solution was found in arguing that the practice of renovating pagodas is part of Burma's Buddhist tradition of merit-making, and that the extensive regime-era restoration works simply fit within this tradition."

And I would expect that UNESCO will have to concede on the existing "crony" hotels and golf courses as well!