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At a special lecture Prof. Nikos Zouros, director of the Museum of Natural History, presented the nomination of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos for inscription on UNESCO World Heritage List. Prof. Zouros presented first the UNESCO Convention on the protection of cultural and natural heritage of 1972 and then subsequently specified the criteria that a landmark should meet to be inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List.

Through extensive photographic material, Prof. Zouros presented important and especially famous landmarks around the world that are on the World Heritage List, including Mount Etna, the Grand Canyon, Mount Fuji, etc.

Special attention was paid to the 17 Greek monuments inscribed on the list, such as the Acropolis in Athens, Meteora, Ancient Olympia, the Byzantine monuments in Thessaloniki, the royal tombs in Vergina and more.

Then subsequently, Prof. Zouros presented data showing that the Petrified Forest of Lesvos is a unique landmark in the world. He also presented in detail the history of the landmark and spoke about the protected area, which is a unique place that has registered the geological development of the Aegean Sea over the past 30 million years as well as about the different activities undertaken by the Museum in conjunction with the preservation and the presentation of the landmark.

Then Lesvos mayor Dimitris Vounatsos delivered a welcoming speech and stressed the importance of the inscription of the Petrified Forest on UNESCO World Heritage List, and the outstanding scientific, economic and tourism benefits that this will bring to the island