제주도 '세계 7대 자연경관' 으로 선정: The New 7 Wonders

제주도, '세계 7대 자연경관'으로 선정

제주도가 세계 7대 자연경관에 선정됐다. 유네스코 세계 자연유산 등재, 세계지질공원 인증, 생물권보전지역 지정에 이은 또 한 번의 쾌거다.

스위스의 세계문화유적 보호 재단인 ‘뉴세븐원더스(The New7wonders)’ 재단은 12일 오전 4시7분(한국 시각) 홈페이지를 통해 제주도를 비롯한 7개 지역을 ‘세계 7대 자연경관’으로 선정해 발표했다.

제주도와 함께 발표된 7대 자연경관은 브라질 아마존, 베트남 하롱베이, 아르헨티나 이구아수 폭포, 인도네시아의 코모도 국립공원, 필리핀 푸에르토 프린세사 지하강, 남아프리카공화국 테이블 마운틴이다.

이번 7대 자연경관은 지난 2009년 7월부터 올해 11일까지 실시한 인터넷·문자·전화 투표 집계로 결정됐다.

이날 새벽 제주시 아트센터에서 초조하게 결과를 기다리던 우근민 제주지사는 “말로 표현하기 어려울 만큼 기쁘다”면서 “그동안 아낌없는 지지와 성원을 보내준 국민과 도민, 재외 동포 등 여러분께 고마움을 전한다”고 말했다. 우 지사는 유네스코 3관왕과 7대 경관을 접목한 환경체험 관광상품 등을 개발하고 7대 경관에 선정된 지역과 협력 기구를 만들어 상생발전하는 방안을 모색하겠다고 밝혔다.

제주도는 세계 7대 자연경관 선정 결선 투표가 시작된 지 1년4개월 만인 지난해 12월 ‘제주-세계 7대 자연경관 선정 범국민추진위원회’를 구성해 본격적인 투표 운동에 뒤늦게 뛰어들었지만, 결선에 오른 28개 후보지 중 하위권이었다. 하지만 초반 열세를 이겨내고 7대 자연경관에 선정되는 저력을 보여줬다. 28개 최종 후보지 중 예비심사 7가지 테마인 섬, 화산, 폭포, 해변, 국립공원, 동굴, 숲을 모두 갖춘 유일한 후보라는 점도 유리하게 작용했다.

제주도는 세계 7대 자연경관 선정으로 국내외 인지도가 높아져 관광객 증가 등의 막대한 경제 파급 효과가 있을 것으로 내다봤다. 제주발전연구원은 외국인 관광객은 최대 73.6%, 내국인은 8.5% 증가해 연간 최대 1조2000여억원에서 최저 6300여억원의 지역 경제 파급 효과가 생길 것으로 예상했다.

한편, 제주도는 세계 7대 자연경관 선정을 기념해 공영관광지 25개소를 12일부터 연말까지 무료로 개방한다. 무료 개방 예정인 관광지는 돌문화공원, 만장굴, 민속자연사박물관, 비자림, 성산일출봉, 정방폭포, 천지연폭포, 천제연폭포, 주상절리, 제주목관아, 제주현대미술관, 절물자연휴양림 등이다.

New 7 Wonders of Nature

The people have spoken. Millions of voters from around the world have cast their ballots for seven sites to be included in the New7Wonders of Nature list.

Seven finalists have been announced: the Amazon in South America; Halong Bay, Vietnam; Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil; Jeju Island, South Korea; Komodo, Indonesia, Puerto Princesa Underground River, the Philippines; and Table Mountain, South Africa.

The results are provisional, based on the first count of votes, and were chosen from 28 locations spanning the globe.

Voting ended Friday (11/11/11) at 11:11 a.m GMT (6:11 a.m. EST). 

A vote count started immediately and continued for almost eight hours until the announcement was made Friday evening in Zurich, Switzerland, at the headquarters of New7Wonders (N7W), the group that oversees the campaign.

The results will now be checked, validated and independently verified. Confirmed winners will be announced early 2012. It is possible that there will be changes between the provisional winners and the final confirmed winners, New7Wonders said on its website.

Earlier today, the top 14 finalists were announced and included: Bu Tinah Island, United Arab Emirates; Dead Sea in Israel, Jordan and Palestine; Great Barrier Reef,  Australia; Jeita Grotto, Lebanon; Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; Masurian Lake District, Poland; and Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India.

Table Mountain

Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town, South Africa, are seen on April 2, 2010, from Blouberg Beach on the city's outskirts. Table Mountain on Nov. 11, 2011, was named a provisional finalist in the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest.

Puerto Princesa Underground River

Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, center, sits with New7Wonders Foundation President Bernard Weber, third from right, and Director Jean-Paul de la Fuente, second left, on a boat as it passes under a mushroom-shaped rock formation Oct. 23, 2011, inside the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park at Kabayugan town, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, western Philippines. The 5-mile-long Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Komodo

A Komodo dragon searches the shore area of Komodo island for prey. Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, which includes the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar as well as several smaller islands, was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon.

Jeju Island

Jeju Island in South Korea is one of the New7Wonders of Nature announced Nov. 11, 2011. The results are provisional until voting can be independently verified.

Halong Bay

Tourist boats are seen Dec. 8, 2007, anchored in Halong Bay on the northeastern coast of Vietnam. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam, and features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes.

Amazon

Lake Condor, located deep within the Amazon jungle, reflects the sky August 20, 2001, in Peru. The vast Amazon Rainforest is 1.4 billion acres and is located within nine nations.

Iguazu Falls

Water flowing over Iguazu Falls leaves a cloud of mist between Brazil, foreground, and Argentina, background, as the sun sets Aug. 12, 2009, over the Iguazu National Park.
The people have spoken. Millions of voters from around the world have cast their ballots for seven sites to be included in the New 7 Wonders of Nature list.

선정 탈락된 후보 지역: 21 other Nominees
 

Milford sound: One of New Zealand's best-known tourist attractions, Milford Sound attracts about 500,000 visitors each year, and features rocky cliffs, cascading waterfalls and dense forests.

Black Forest: Located east of the Rhine River, between the towns of Karlsruhe, Germany and Basel, Switzerland, Black Forest offers areas jam-packed with evergreens and open farmland. "It’s not nature wild and remote, but bucolic and picturesque," according to Lonely Planet's Web site.

Angel Falls:The highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls is located in Venezuela, along the border with Brazil. The waterfall boasts a height of more than 3,200 feet.

Vesuvius: It is the only volcano on Europe's mainland to have eruped in the past 100 years, but Italy's Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in 79 AD. The explosion and its aftermath destroyed the city of Pompeii.

Dead Sea: The shoreline surrounding the Dead Sea sits at 1,200 feet below sea level and is the lowest piece of dry land in the world. Environmental organizations warn that the Dead Sea, which sits with the West Bank, Palestine and Isreal to the west and Jordan to the east, will disappear in 50 years if its level continues to drop at the current rate.

El Yunque: Puerto Rico's 28,000-acre El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest System.

Grand Canyon: This well-known and frequently visited U.S. National Park runs a mile deep, averages 10 miles wide and was carved out over the past 6 million years.

Mud volcanoes: It is estimated that 300 of the planet's estimated 700 mud volcanoes are found in Gobustan, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. In Azerbaijan, eruptions are driven from a deep mud reservoir which is connected to the surface even during dormant periods, when seeping water still shows a deep origin.

Great Barrier Reef: This Australian destination is home to 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of molusc, according to UNESCO's Web site. The Great Barrier Reef was added to the World Heritage List in 1981.

Masurian Lake District: Containing more than 2,000 lakes, the Masurian Lake District in Poland encompasses an area that spans about 32,000 square miles.

Uluru: Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is a famous Australian destination that rises 1,135 feet above ground. In July, 2009, the national parks service proposed a plan to ban climbing the sandstone landmark due to safety and environmental reasons.

Galapagos Islands: Inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1978, the Galapagos Islands and its marine reserve are home to myriad marine species. Charles Darwin's visit to the islands in 1835 inspired his theory of evolution by natural selection.

Cliff Moher: One of the most visited tourist sites of Ireland, the vertical Cliffs of Moher tower 650 feet high and plunge abruptly into the churning Atlantic Ocean.

Moldives: Encompassing 1,192 small islands -- only 200 or so inhabited -- the Maldive Islands are located in the Indian Ocean. Tourism is the Maldives' largest industry and accounts for nearly 30 percent of its gross domestic product.

Matterhorn: At 14,690 feet, the Matterhorn is not even the highest mountain in Switzerland, but it is one of the world's most photogenic, rising up on four elegant faces to a craggy peak along the Swiss-Italian border.

Jeita Grotto: Lebanon expects the crystallized caves of Jeita Grotto, located north of Beirut, to be a major tourist destination in the summer of 2009, estimating a record 2 million visitors.

Yushan: Taiwan's highest mountain is located in the Yushan National Park. Also called Jade Mountain, Yushan rises about 13,000 feet above sea level.

Bay of Fundy: The Bay of Fundy's extreme water flows, caused by the highest tides on earth, have resulted in a diverse marine ecosystem, and the area is a critical feeding ground for migratory birds. The Bay of Fundy is located between Maine and the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Sundarbans: The Sundarbans delta, located in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, is home to the largest mangrove forest on the planet. "Sundarban" literally means "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language.

Kilimanjaro: Kilimanjaro National Park was inscribed to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987. Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest peak in Africa, rising 19,340 feet in the air.