The Verkhovna Rada plans to expand the list of categories of local and national monuments by the world heritage category and enlarge the duties granted to the Cabinet of Ministers in the sphere of cultural heritage protection.

A total of 249 lawmakers on Tuesday supported bill No. 1553 amending the law on cultural heritage protection regarding the protection of world heritage monuments included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

The bill proposes creating management bodies, supervisory boards of these monuments, determine their duties and set up the specifics for managing and protecting them.

The measure provides for creating buffer zones for world heritage monuments.