Countries around the world should balance their heritage protection efforts with the need for sustainable development, Zhang Xinsheng, chairman of the Executive Board of UNESCO, said here Saturday.

All dimensions of heritage, "be it natural or cultural, are part of the sustainable development equation," he said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee.

Zhang said that the concept of the four Cs -- credibility, conservation, capacity-biulding and communication, should be strengthened in the effort to protect world heritage.

Credibility "is of course the cornerstone on which the three others rely" and the precondition for the sustainability of the whole program, said Zhang, who is also China's vice minister for education.

"I am thinking, in particular, of the pushes and pulls between conservation efforts on the one hand, and the need for sustainable development as a contributor to economic growth on the other, whether this be in terms of cultural or natural heritage," Zhang noted.

More than 600 representatives from over 70 countries and regions are expected to attend the nine-day session of the World Heritage Committee.

Source: Xinhua