28 finalists in the “7 Wonders of Nature” poll
July 22nd, 2009
The Grand Canyon, the Matterhorn and the Great Barrier Reef are competing with 25 other spectacular natural features in the final phase of the survey to choose the "New 7 wonders of nature."
The Amazon rain forest, the Dead Sea, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, are also among the finalists, according to the New 7 Wonders led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.
People can vote by Internet or telephone. Winners will be announced in 2011 and sharing the glory and enjoy the seven man made wonders elected two years ago.
More than 1 billion people are expected to join the vote, Weber said Tuesday.
"This campaign should contribute to the assessment – the knowledge – of our environment and not only our country but throughout the world," he told The Associated Press. "If we or our children want to save anything, first of all thank you."
The finalists also include mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan, Lebanon JEITA Cave, Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and Germany’s Black Forest.
A group of experts chose the finalists from 77 candidates who won most votes in a first round of voting. 261 people have suggested milestones in countries around the world.
The group of experts chaired by Federico Mayor, former head of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, chose the finalists based on a geographical balance, diversity and importance for human life.
Weber said he was happy that candidates including locations in more than one country, such as the Dead Sea or the Amazon jungle, which makes people work together across borders.
High voter participation has come from Asian countries, including Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam, as well as Latin America, he said.
"U.S. voter participation is always quite high," he added.
Africa, where most people vote by mobile phones, has had the largest increase in votes in recent weeks, Weber said.
Weber refused to give any number of votes so far. But the organization plans to release information on the profiles of voters later. Register on the website aims to prevent people from voting twice.
Around 100 million people voted in the election of the seven wonders man in 2007. The winners were the Colosseum, Italy, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, India Petra, Jordan, and the Christ Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu, Peru, and the Pyramid of Chichen Itza, Mexico.
Choosing world wonders has been a fascination over the centuries. UNESCO keeps updating its list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 890 places.
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