Once a year the World Heritage Committee approves and inscribes in the World Heritage List the most significant natural and cultural localities in the world. This highest independent body is created by 21 countries selected in secret voting from 160 member states to the Convention on the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage during the General Meeting of the signatories to the Convention. In 2000, the World Heritage List included 630 localities from 118 countries. In 1999 the member state nominated 70 localities and in 2000 87. The Slovak Republic submitted 2 localities – the Bardejov Historical Town Reserve and the Dobšinská Ice Cave including the Stratenská Cave and the Psie Diery Cave as a single cave system located the Duča Hill in the Slovak Paradise National Park. After the successful nomination of Vlkolínec, Banská Štiavnica and the Spišský Castle and its surroundings in Cartagene de Indías (Columbia) in 1993 and the caves of the Slovak carst and Aggtelek carst in Berlin in 1995 and after several unsuccessful nominations the said two localities may extend the World Heritage in Slovakia in 2000.