PERM, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - The authorities of the Perm region want to include the Kungur ice cave on the UNESCO World Heritage List, regional Vice-Governor Nikolai Bukhvalov said.

The Kungur ice cave became a candidate for World Heritage status at a UNESCO forum in November of 2004. The cave meets UNESCO specifications, including site conservation, free access for tourists and long-term site observation, Bukhvalov said.

He said Perm authorities were to outline technical and economic grounds for including the cave on the list and draft a letter from the regional governor to the UNESCO director general and the Russian foreign minister. The authorities discussed these issues with scientists, ecologists and representatives of license and control organizations.

Bukhvalov said World Heritage site status would attract investments in the cave and nearby facilities.

The Kungur ice cave is a unique karst site. The world's sixth largest karst cave, it stretches underground for 5,600 meters and has some 60 lakes and 60 grottos. The first research done on the cave was conducted in the 18th century.

Russia's current nine World Nature Heritage properties include the Virgin Komi Forests in Russia's northwest, Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, the volcanoes of Kamchatka in the Far East, the Golden Mountains of Altai in Southern Siberia, the Western Caucasus, the Curonian Spit, a 98-kilometer long sand dune peninsula in the Baltic Sea, the Central Sikhote-Alin, a mountain range in the Far East, the Uvs Nuur Basin, a unique site made up of twelve protected areas representing the major biomes of eastern Eurasia and the natural system of the Wrangel Island Reserve in the Arctic Ocean.