"A regular UNESCO session will be held in New Zealand July 2, and Russia will at that time raise the issue of classifying Geyser Valley as an endangered natural site," Oleg Mitvol said at a meeting in support of Russia's national parks and nature preserves.
Two mudslides Sunday buried nearly two-thirds of the world-renowned valley, which features some 200 thermal pools and 90 erupting geysers covering an area of 2.5 square miles on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East, and Russian environmental and tourism officials have described the event as a calamity for the country and the region.
However, despite widespread expressions of pessimism that the site could ever be restored to its former grandeur, the natural resources minister, Yuri Trutnev, Wednesday instructed that a special commission be set up within a month to assess the extent of the damage and to take a decision on its possible rehabilitation.
According to a ministry spokesman, a preliminary assessment of the damage has determined that some 30 geysers have survived largely unaffected, including the largest, known as "the Giant."
Another 10 have been lost irretrievably beneath the mile-long flow of mud, snow, boulders and debris, while the rest are currently underwater and could well recover when the flooding subsides, Rinat Gizatulin said.
Mitvol for his part said that no expense should be spared to salvage such an important piece of Russia's natural heritage.
"In this case, we have encountered a situation in which we need to use all of our financial resources. If the money allocated so far proves insufficient, our ministry will address the government to request additional funds," he said.
About 3,000 visitors a year are granted access to the geyser field, one of only five sites in the world where the impressive eruptions of steam and boiling-hot water can be observed. Despite its inaccessibility, there have always been more than enough people willing to pay up to $600 for a four-hour visit.
