New 7 Wonders of Nature - Really?

A few days ago the winners of the New7Wonders of Nature were announced and I’m sure more than a few people were surprised by the results. Considering some of the ‘big names’ that made the final 28 it was very interesting to see how influential the public vote was in determining the winners.

It is pretty clear to me that there has been some serious campaigning done by the tourism boards of some of the lesser-known wonders in order to gain a place on the list, unfortunately at the expense of what I will call ‘quality control’.

Here is the sequence of events that led to a decision being made:

• The voting process began back in December of 2007 with a global vote to determine the nominees from over 220 countries. This voting continued until the 7th of July 2009 and the 77 nominees were then selected.
• A Panel of Experts then selected 28 finalists on the 21st of July 2009.
• The public then voted for their favorites – with more than 100 million votes cast.
• The 7 winners were announced on the 11.11.11

So to give you a little background here is the list of 28 finalists and we will discuss the winners shortly.

The Finalists

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1. Amazon

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela

2. Angel Falls

Venezuela

3. Bay of Fundy

Canada

4. Black Forest

Germany

5. Bu Tinah Island

United Arab Emirates

6. Cliffs of Moher

Ireland

7. Dead Sea

Israel, Jordan, Palestine

8. El Yunque

Puerto Rico

9. Galapagos Islands

Ecuador

10. Grand Canyon

United States

11. Great Barrier Reef

Australia

12. Halong Bay

Vietnam

13. Iguazu Falls

Argentina, Brazil

14. Jeita Grotto

Lebanon

15. Jeju Island

South Korea

16. Mount Kilimanjaro

Tanzania

17. Komodo Island

Indonesia

18. Maldives

Maldives

19. Masurian Lake District

Poland

20. Matterhorn/Cervino

Italy, Switzerland

21. Milford Sound

New Zealand

22. Mud Volcanoes

Azerbaijan

23. Puerto Princessa Underground River

Philippines

24. Sunderbans

Bangladesh, India

25. Table Mountain

South Africa

26. Uluru/Ayers Rock

Australia

27. Mount Vesuvius

Italy

28. Yushan

Chinese Taipei

Ok so from this esteemed list of natural wonders the following seven received the most votes by you and were announced the New7Wonders of Nature.

The Winners

1. Amazon
2. Halong Bay
3. Iguazu Falls
4. Jeju Island
5. Komodo Island
6. Puerto Princessa Underground River
7. Table Mountain

Is it just me or does this list seem a little stacked? Firstly more than 50% (4 out of 7) of the winners are from the same continent – Asia. Secondly, there are only 3 continents represented – Asia, South America, and Africa. Finally, the vast majority of the winners are from developing countries.

Why is this important to the voting? Well, in my opinion, there are 2 major factors – 1. Government backing and funding 2. National pride

I am not here to say that these wonders shouldn’t be on the list but they definitely wouldn’t be on my own personal list which would look something like this: Amazon (South America), Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Maasai Mara National Reserve (Africa), Grand Canyon (USA), Dead Sea (Israel), Antarctica, Mount Everest (Nepal)

Now it’s time to have your say. Tell us what wonders would be on YOUR list?

Image credits: New7Wonders