New Caledonia's lagoons and reef ecosystems have been made a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The announcement was made in Canada at a meeting of the UN agency's World Heritage committee.

The committee has described the lagoons as of exceptional natural beauty and diversity, providing a home to a number of threatened fish, turtles, and marine mammals, including the third largest population of dugongs in the world.

The announcement came a day after Papua New Guinea's ancient Kuk agriculture site was made the Pacific Islands' first entry on the Unesco list.

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