The conservation group WWF has warned that nearly half of natural World Heritage Sites are under threat from industry. The sites provide valuable economic, social and environmental benefits to communities.
Image: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
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Almost half of all natural World Heritage Sites, including the Great Barrier Reef and Germany's Wadden Sea, are threatened by industrial activities, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF, formerly "World Wildlife Fund") warned on Wednesday.
Of the 229 natural and mixed cultural World Heritage Sites, 114 are under are threat from oil and gas exploration and extraction, mining, illegal logging, construction, overfishing or unsustainable water use. Some are threatened by multiple industrial activities.
"Despite the obvious benefits of these natural areas, we still haven't managed to decouple economic development from environmental degradation," WWF director general Marco Lambertini said in the report.
Natural World Heritage Sites - including national parks, nature preserves, reefs, coastal areas and forests - are not only environmental treasures for all of humanity, but provide food, water, medicine and tourism income to more than 11 million people.
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By some estimates, all of the world's natural protected areas receive 8 billion visitors a year, creating $600 billion in economic activity. Some of these are World Heritage Sites.
"Protecting natural areas and ecosystems is not antidevelopment. It is in the interest of long-term, robust and sustainable development that benefits people and natural systems, including our social stability, economic prosperity, and individual well-being," Lambertini said.
Some World Heritage Sites also play an important role in larger ecosystems, sucking up climate change causing greenhouse gases and protecting fish and wildlife.
"Healthy, natural World Heritage sites contribute to poverty reduction, help alleviate food insecurity, combat climate change and restore and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems," said Lambertini.
Among the sites under threat is the Great Barrier Reef, which has experienced coral bleaching and is under threat from the development of the giant Carmichael coal mine.
The world's second largest reef system in Belize is also under threat, as are the Galapagos Islands and Peru's iconic Machu Pichu. The Grand Canyon in the United States is under threat from dams and overuse of water.
The unique tidal zones of the Wadden Sea shared by Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark are also under threat from oil and gas concessions and shipping, WWF said.
The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, a transnational site that includes five German forests on the Baltic Sea, are also under threat from oil and gas concessions, WWF said.
The Wadden Sea consists of tidal flats and wetlands.Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Reinhardt
The WWF urged governments to abide by their commitments and cancel projects that threaten World Heritage Sites.
It also called on companies to stop industrial activities in protected areas, and is asking financial institutions not to fund them.
UNESCO's new World Heritage Sites
Unique natural landscapes and thousands-year-old ruins: out of 36 nominations, UNESCO has designated 24 new World Heritage Sites. And here they are.
Image: ICCHTO
Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district
The Speicherstadt is Hamburg's first World Heritage Site. The 15 warehouses on the Elbe River are a testimonial to the city's historical maritime, industrial architecture. The nearby Kontorhaus district is included in the site. In particular, its Chilehaus represents the most significant artistic and architectural achievement of German Brick Expressionism.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Palermo and the Cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale
Italy already has 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and it just got one more: Arab-Norman Palermo (see picture) and the nearby Cathedral Churches of Cefalù und Monreale. They represent the 12th century Norman kingdom of Sicily. The rulers of the time combined architectural style elements of both eastern and western cultures.
Image: CRICD
French vineyards and cellars
In France, two famous wine-making regions have been declared World Heritage Sites. The various 'climats' in Burgundy have been cultivating grapes since the High Middle Ages. The second designation this year goes to the vineyards, production sites and underground cellars of Champagne (pictured).
Danish hunting landscape and a Moravian settlement
The Par Force hunting landscape (pictured) encompasses two sculpted hunting woodlands. They were designed for the Danish kings and their court for hunting with hounds and demonstrate the application of Baroque landscape principles in forested areas in the 17th and 18th centuries. Denmark's second site is Christiansfeld, a Moravian church settlement founded in 1773.
Image: Danish Museum of Hunting and Forestry
European industrial landscapes
Along with Norway's industrial complexes in the towns of Rjukan und Notodden, Britain's Forth Bridge (pictured) was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. The bridge spanning the estuary of the Forth River in Scotland is considered an important milestone in bridge design and construction.
Image: picture alliance/empics/A. Milligan
Diyarbakir Fortress and the ancient city of Ephesus
Two new World Heritage Sites have been declared in Turkey. The ancient city of Ephesus (pictured) includes what little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Ephesus is considered an outstanding example of a Roman port city. Turkey's other site is the Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Ozturk
Religious history in Israel and Jordan
During the 2nd century AD, the necropolis of Bet She’arim in Israel (pictured) was the most important Jewish burial site outside of Jerusalem. Inscriptions in the underground tombs provide evidence of a revival period of Jewish religious culture. Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the home and workplace of John the Baptist, was also added to the list of World Heritage sites.
Image: Tsvika Tsuk
Blue and John Crown Mountains
Jamaica has been granted its first ever World Heritage listing. The Blue and John Crown mountain ranges are rich in wildlife, and have now been declared a World Heritage Natural Site and Cultural Site. They are home to numerous endangered species. The area also has cultural significance, as it's closely linked to the history of the Maroons and their fight against slavery.
Image: JCDT
Singapore: Botanic Gardens
Singapore also received its first World Heritage title. The Botanic Gardens have more than 3,000 tropical plant species, a rainforest and an orchid garden, and are now some of the most beautiful and scientifically significant botanic gardens in the world. The history dates back 150 years, and they now attract more than four million visitors a year.
Image: picture-alliance/ANN/The Straits Times
Archeology and industry in Asia
Also added to the World Heritage listings were the Tusi Sites in Asia (pictured) - the areas from which the former tribal leaders ruled in southern China. Other places to receive a World Heritage title include the holy Burkhan Mountain in Mongolia, the archaeological sites of the Baekje Dynasty in Korea and the Japanese industrial sites from the Meiji period.
Image: Management Office of Tangya Tusi Domain
Prehistoric evidence
Susa in Iran was once a resplendent city. Excavations in the ruins (pictured) have revealed a treasure trove of archeological finds dating back through the 5,000-year long settlement history. Iran was granted a second World Heritage listing for its historic cave village of Meymand, Kerman. The prehistoric rock drawings in Ha’il in Saudi Arabia also received a place on the UNESCO list.
Image: ICCHTO
American missionaries and bridge builders
The 18th century San Antonio Missions in Texas (pictured) provide a glimpse into the age of colonization and are an example of the intertwining of Spanish and Native American culture. The Aqueduct in Mexico’s Padre Tembleque was also declared a World Heritage site, as was the Cultural-Industrial Landscape of Fray Bentos in Uruguay.