Ukraine seeks World Heritage status for Chornobyl zone

By Veronika Strashko .

Published Dec. 14, 2020 at 5:27 pm

This photograph taken on Dec. 8, 2020, shows a monument in front of the giant protective dome built over the sarcophagus of the destroyed fourth reactor of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. More than three decades after the Chornobyl nuclear disaster forced thousands to evacuate, there is an influx of visitors to the area that has spurred officials to seek official status from UNESCO. Officials hope recognition from the UN's culture agency will boost the site as a tourist attraction and in turn bolster efforts to preserve aging buildings nearby.

Photo by AFP

More than 34 years after the disastrous explosion at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian authorities are proposing to add a number of objects located in the exclusion zone to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In 2019, a record 124,000 tourists — 100,000 of them foreigners — visited the site. The government is seeking to boost tourism by making visits easier, developing sightseeing routes, train guides, and providing quality basic infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently signed a decree to start preparations for the 35th anniversary of the disaster, which took place on April 26, 1986.