New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS): India's environment ministry, in association with UNESCO, is establishing a centre for world natural heritage management and training for the Asia and Pacific region at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, a statement said on Thursday.

The ministry will soon be signing an agreement with UNESCO for setting up the centre that will be established for management and training in the field of natural heritage in the world.

"This is a recognition of the excellent work done by the institute in the field of world heritage management in natural heritage and this experience will be useful for all the countries of Asia and Pacific region for identification of potential natural heritage sites, their inscription and management in line with the objectives of world heritage convention," Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar said in the statement.

The centre will function as an integral part of the Wildlife Institute of India by sharing its campus, management and human resources.

Asia Pacific already has 227 world heritage properties, out of which 59 are natural sites. Among these, 32 properties are in India, including seven natural heritages.