Dharahara Tower, a 19th century nine-storey tall tower in Kathmandu, has collapsed in the earthquake, local media said. [China.org.cn/CFP]

The United Nation's cultural agency is warning that the restoration of the cultural heritage sites damaged in Nepal's earthquake might take ten years or even decades.

Christian Manhart, the UNESCO representative to Nepal, is calling on the international community to help with the rebuilding.

"I think we have thousands of monuments to restore, and I can only say that this will take at least ten years, but maybe it will take many decades, so it's very difficult to say now. And also this will depend on the financial means which will be available for that because the government of Nepal doesn't have enough money to do this so they need the help and the solidarity of the international community and I think the help coming from China will be extremely welcome here in Nepal."

Statistics from UNESCO show that seven world cultural heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley were damaged to varying extents as result of the strong quake.

While the Nepalese government says 90 percent of the buildings at these heritage sites have been destroyed.

Cultural official Tulsi Gautam says the reconstruction work will be challenging.

"Two things here. One is cost, very high cost. Second is the technology and technical manpower may not be enough to fix it up. Not only the heritage sites, maybe hundreds of thousands of houses are damaged. So to rebuild them, we require a lot of resources, and a lot of human capital also, human resources also. We also require the manpower. It's a really challenging task."

The UN has formulated a reconstruction plan, with priority given to reinforcing existing and new buildings' resistance to earthquake.

Tourism accounts for over eight percent of Nepal's GDP, and seven percent of its employed population works in the sector.

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