Three historical treasures of Africa: hazard successfully stopped!

Three historical treasures of Africa: hazard successfully stopped!

The UNESCO recently announced pleasant news at a meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Paris: Three African World Heritage Sites were deleted by the list of endangered sites. These include the ruins of the early Christian pilgrimage location Abu Mena in Egypt, the old town of Ghadames in Libya and the rainforests of Atsinanana on Madagascar. This decision shows that the protective measures of the responsible actors fruit and the sites are now no longer considered threatened. As reports [Deutschlandfunk Kultur] (https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/laut-unesco-sind-drei-frikanische Welterbeste-nicht-Laenger-droht-100.html), the list of threatened world heritage now includes 53 entries, including the old town of Vienna.

The world heritage is a valuable part of our global heritage and is often under pressure. The causes are diverse: natural disasters, global warming, wars, structural developments and, last but not least, mass tourism represent great challenges. According to the UNESCO, these hazard factors can be carefully observed in order to preserve the uniqueness of these sites. In addition to the sites already mentioned, there are also others, such as the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the historical center of LWIW in Ukraine, under threat to armed conflicts and illegal activities, such as wikipedia summarized.

threats for the world heritage

The endangerment of our cultural assets is not a new topic. Many world sites are the result of decades of developments that have to be continuously adapted. In addition, all conversion and expansion measures must be possible in terms of world heritage in order not to endanger the extraordinary universal value of the sites. This was also underlined by UNESCO, which emphasized that development projects may only be implemented if they do not contradict the protection goals of the World Heritage Convention.

In this context, it is particularly important that World Heritage Expertivity Exams are carried out early. If these are missing, the preventive protection system could get out of joint and, in the worst case, even result in the loss of all protection goals. These test criteria are of crucial importance in cities such as Vienna, where the old town has been on the list of endangered world heritage since 2001.

The role of the public

However, it is not only the responsibility of authorities and institutions to protect the world heritage. Society also plays a crucial role. Awareness of the hazard of our cultural treasures must be sharpened. This is the only way to take measures to maintain historical sites. Anyone who lives in Vienna or visits the city should be aware of this responsibility and actively participate in the protection of the impressive old town and its history.