Laponia Area
Laponia is a living world heritage site. Laponia World Heritage is a cultural landscape with traces of human activity dating back thousands of years, at the same time as it is Europe’s biggest contiguous natural landscape. In 1996, UNESCO designated Laponia a World Heritage Site for both its culture and its nature. It is an area is so unique that it is important for all of mankind to protect and preserve it for future generations. The Laponian heritage is yours, ours and the world’s.
The Justification of the World Heritage Committee
The area is an outstanding example of how the Earth has developed, above all geologically, and how ecological and biological change is taking place today. There are also outstanding natural phenomena of exceptional beauty, as well as significant natural locations for biodiversity. The area, which since prehistoric times has been inhabited by the Sámi, is one of the best preserved examples of nomadic areas in Northern Scandinavia. It contains settlements and forage areas for large reindeer herds, a tradition which goes back to an early stage in the economic and social development of mankind.
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Photo: Carl-Johan Utsi
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