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Island contenders for the N7WReviewing Jeju's competition for the New7Wonders of Nature |
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Voting for the epic three-year New7 Wonders of Nature competition has entered the final stretch, and with 200 days remaining, the Jeju government has created many initiatives to try to motivate those in Korea and throughout the world to vote for the island.
As of this writing Jeju Island has by far the lowest percentage of international votes of all the finalists, with only 49.04 percent having been cast outside of Korea. To help improve this number, international celebrities like Hines Ward and Park Ji Sung were appointed honorary ambassadors of the island with the hopes of capturing the attention of other nations.
The Vote for Jeju Campaign has also enlisted the help of Internet-savvy international university students who are studying here to utilize social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to encourage people from their native countries to vote. Students selected to participate will be taken on a familiarization tour of the island as well as receive free admittance to major tourist attractions.
Out of the original 441 locations, Jeju survived the massive purge to be one of 28 finalists. Within this pool are a number of famous and lesser-known sites that are a single natural wonder like the Grand Canyon and those that contain several, like Jeju. Among these finalists are several islands which appear to be Jeju’s greatest competition for one of the coveted seven spots.
1. Maldives
Maldives is a nation comprised of 1,192 islets and 26 atolls (a coral reef or lagoon) located in the Indian Ocean approximately 700 kilometers southwest of Sri Lanka. The nation has a population of 396,334 spread out on 200 habitable islands. According to the Maldives Tourism Promotion Board 94.9 percent of the country is aware of the New7Wonders of Nature campaign with eight out of 10 citizens having voted.
It is a beautiful country with aqua blue waters and exotic scenery and is dependent on tourism, which accounts for 26 percent of its GDP. Currently, about 700,000 tourists visit this relatively poor nation per year. However if chosen as a New7Wonders of Nature, this number may well increase. One of the creative promotional activities used to grab the world’s attention to vote for Maldives was when President Mohamed Nasheed held the first underwater cabinet meeting in October 2009 where he signed a document to reduce carbon emissions.
As of the latest polling 99.73 percent of votes cast for Maldives have been from those who reside outside of the country, which places it fourth in this category out of the 28 finalists.
2. Bu Tinah Island
Part of the United Arab Emirates and to the west of Abu Dhabi, Bu Tinah is actually several islands that are connected by a land mass that resides no deeper than three meters underwater at any one point. It has a thriving ecosystem that is home to many rare and endangered species like Dugongs (aquatic mammals), humpback dolphins and hawkbill turtles. Due to the abundance of mangroves, tall sea grass beds, coral reefs and shallow waters, it is considered a unique living laboratory and for this reason remains uninhabited and is banned to visitors and for fishing.
In 2001, UNESCO registered Bu Tinah as part of the region’s first Biosphere reserve, and it is the largest protected area in Abu Dhabi. According to recent polling by the New7Wonders Web site, 98.40 percent of all Bu Tinah votes were cast outside of its native country.
3. Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands need little introduction due to Charles Darwin’s work on finches for his groundbreaking book on the theory of evolution, “On the Origin of Species.” Situated nearly 1,000 km west of the coast of Ecuador and comprised of 18 volcanic islands (of which five are inhabited) and 107 rocks and islets, the Galapagos Islands are known for their rich variety of animals like the flightless cormorant, the Galapagos tortoise, and the albatross.
According to the Galapagos Islands’ Web site, the greatest threat to the Galapagos is human impact and with a population of over 20,000 inhabitants that doubles every 11 years, this is a very relevant concern.
As part of the Ecuador national park system, the Galapagos receives approximately 80,000 tourists a year. Scientists are still perplexed by the mysteries of the island and return often to try and understand how such a diverse array of animals developed in such a small area.
According to the New7Wonders Web site, 99.56 percent of votes cast for the Galapagos Islands were by those who reside outside of Ecuador.
4. Komodo
Indonesia’s Komodo National Park was established on 1,817 square kilometers in 1980 with the purpose of protecting the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, but was later dedicated to the preservation of other animals. The national park consists of Komodo, Rinca and Padar volcanic islands as well as several islets and is known for its rough and rugged terrain and as the only habitat of the Komodo dragon. The national park was anointed as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve in 1977 and a World Heritage Site in 1991.
However, there has been recent controversy over Komodo’s campaign, and they were almost pulled from the competition by the New7Wonders Foundation because Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said it did not wish to host the announcement of the selected seven locations on Nov. 11, 2011, because it would be to costly, according to an article by The Jakarta Post on Feb. 8. Instead of banning Komodo from the competition, the foundation decided to prevent Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism from participating in the vote for the Komodo campaign.
As of recent rankings 89.59 percent of cast votes for Komodo have come from outside of Indonesia.
5. Yushan
On the island of Taiwan, Mt. Yushan (located within the Yushan National Park) is home to a diverse ecology of flora, fauna and wildlife, including several endemic species like the bovine Taiwan Serow. Mt. Yushan, also known as the Jade Mountain due to its appearance during the winter, is 3,953 meters above sea level.
Because of these endemic species, Mt. Yushan is important as a conservation site.
Located in the tropics, it enjoys tropical and sub-tropical climates at sea level. As one moves higher in altitude the climate changes to that of alpine conditions and supports deciduous and coniferous forests.
Out of the five finalists mentioned, Mt. Yushan has the lowest percentage of support from outside of the country with 82.32 percent. According to the New7 Wonders Web site, Yushan National Park Administration is connecting with sister national parks in Italy and Japan to increase its support. The three foundations will then actively promote each other to help garner more international votes.
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