Red List of World Heritage in Danger

Location of the endangered world heritage sites

The Red List of World Heritage in Danger is maintained by UNESCO . It is based on the World Heritage Convention signed by 193 countries. Of those cultural and natural monuments that are on the World Heritage List , UNESCO uses this Red List to highlight those whose existence and validity are threatened by serious and specific dangers such as damage, destruction or disappearance. UNESCO calls for extraordinary conservation efforts for these sites.

Procedure

Western Wall and Old City of Jerusalem , which is on the Red List. In 2007 UNESCO had to intervene in the dispute over the ramp to the Dung Gate (right).

The Iguaçu National Park in Brazil was on the Red List from 1999–2000. The pressure resulted in a street running through the park not being reopened.

There are many reasons for threats. Land development, urbanization, natural disasters, armed conflicts, clearing, poaching, vandalism, neglect and extensive tourism can endanger World Heritage sites . Threats can already be identified, as if buildings have been demolished, or only possible, as if there is no legal basis for protection.

An inclusion in the Red List is always an appeal to the international community. The application is submitted by UNESCO or the country concerned. The decision is adopted by the World Heritage Committee with a two-thirds majority. In this case, the “community of states” should participate financially, technically and politically in the protection and rescue. The World Heritage Committee also has its own funds from which aid measures can be financed. The World Heritage Committee sometimes threatens to add a site to the Red List against the will of the affected state. This announcement alone can initiate significant conservation efforts in some countries.

"[...] the Committee is of the view that its assistance in certain cases may most effectively be limited to messages of its concern, including the message sent by inscription of a property on the List of World Heritage in Danger and that such assistance may be requested by any Committee member or the Secretariat. "

“[…] The Committee believes that, in certain cases, its assistance may most appropriately be limited to communications of concern, including notification of an item being inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger, and that such assistance may be from anyone Member of the committee or the secretariat can be requested. "

- Implementing provisions for the World Heritage Convention, Item 177

After the entry, the World Heritage Committee formulates a program for remedial measures and creates the schedule, preferably coordinated with the state concerned, if necessary against its will. The measures to protect the site are checked, the processes are determined and it is checked when the condition that gave rise to the registration will be eliminated. A site can only be removed from the Red List when the cause of the threat to entry has been eliminated. If the hazard is not eliminated and the outstanding importance of the site is irretrievably destroyed, the site or part of it can also be removed from the World Heritage List, although this rarely occurs (see Former World Heritage ).

Entries in the red list

In July 2019, 53 of the 1113 World Heritage sites were on the Red List.

• Natural heritage sites are marked with an “ N ” and cultural heritage sites with a “ K ”.
• Monuments that belong to both the world cultural and the world natural heritage bear a " K / N ".

Red list since	site	Country	Type	World Heritage since	reasons
1982	Old City and City Walls of Jerusalem	not assigned to any state	K	1981	Given the unclear legal status of Jerusalem, the preservation of the Old City is a particular problem. Most recently, work on the ramp to the dung gate was controversial.
1986	Ruined city of Chan Chan	Peru	K	1986	The ruins are exposed to increasingly severe damage due to climate changes , rising groundwater levels and illegal settlements on the site.
1992	Strict nature reserve Mount Nimba	Ivory Coast , Guinea	N	1981	Iron ore mining is planned in Guinea , rebels are in control in Ivory Coast and refugees have set up camps in the park.
1992	Aïr and Ténéré nature reserves	Niger	N	1991	The uprisings of the Tuareg led to the acceptance, the various political upheavals and insufficient involvement of the government have prevented it from being removed from the list.
1994	Virunga National Park	Democratic Republic of Congo	N	1979	A wave of refugees entering the region after the genocide in Rwanda threatened the park's tree population. Armed groups are still operating in the region.
1996	Garamba National Park	Democratic Republic of Congo	N	1980	The white rhinos were almost wiped out by poaching. The unclear politico-military situation speaks against removing the park from the list anytime soon.
1997	Kahuzi-Biéga National Park	Democratic Republic of Congo	N	1980	The population of the mountain gorillas is endangered, the lower-lying regions of the park are used by a Rwandan rebel group as a base of operations.
1997	Okapi game reserve	Democratic Republic of Congo	N	1996	Deforestation through slash and burn for agriculture and commercial hunting for the sale of game meat, as well as the mining of gold and coltan threaten the reserve.
1997	Manovo-Gounda Saint Floris National Park	Central African Republic	N	1988	Organized poaching has massively reduced the park's animal population.
1999	Salonga National Park	Democratic Republic of Congo	N	1984	The general breakdown of law and order in the region resulted in the looting and desertion of some of the park guards.
2000	Medina of Zabid	Yemen	K	1993	The historical souq is no longer used, and many buildings have been replaced by modern concrete structures.
2001	Early Christian ruins of Abu Mena (Monastery of St. Menas)	Egypt	K	1979	Rising groundwater as a result of an irrigation project destroys the foundations.
2002	Minaret and archaeological finds from Jam	Afghanistan	K	2002	The minaret threatened to be washed away by the river and is no longer vertical. There are no structures to protect the site yet.
2003	Cultural landscape and archaeological sites of the Bamiyan Valley (e.g. Buddha statues of Bamiyan )	Afghanistan	K	2003	After the statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, their niches threatened to collapse. Landmines still lie in parts of the valley .
2003	Aššur	Iraq	K	2003	The excavation sites threatened to be flooded by the construction of the Makhul Dam. Although the project has been abandoned, the general security issues remain.
2005	Old town and port of Coro	Venezuela	K	1993	Severe storms in 2004/05 wreaked havoc on the city.
2006	Medieval monuments in Kosovo : Dečani Monastery , Patriarchal Monastery Peć , Gračanica Monastery and Church of the Virgin of Ljeviša	Serbia ( Kosovo )	K	2004/2006	The security situation is unstable.
2007	Archaeological sites of Samarra	Iraq	K	2007	The dome and minarets of the Al-Askari shrine were destroyed by bomb attacks.
2007	Niokolo-Koba National Park	Senegal	N	1981	The park suffers from poaching and a dam construction project in the Gambia could prevent the regular flooding of the grasslands.
2010	Everglades National Park	United States	N	1979	Increasing environmental pollution and interventions in the water balance threaten the park. The park was already on the red list from 1993 to 2007.
2010	Kasubi Tombs , tombs of the Buganda kings	Uganda	K	2001	Was partially destroyed by fire.
2010	Atsinanana rainforests	Madagascar	N	2007	Illegal logging and hunting of the endangered lemurs of the natural heritage site
2011	Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve	Honduras	N	1982	Illegal logging, slash and burn , increasing pressure from agriculture, a planned hydropower plant and inadequate management endanger the forests.
2011	Tropical rainforests of Sumatra : Gunung Leuser National Park , Kerinchi-Seblat National Park and Barisan Selatan National Park	Indonesia	N	2004	Illegal logging and increasing pressure from agricultural use, as well as poaching and plans for roads through the area.
2012	Fortifications on the Caribbean coast in Panama: Portobelo - San Lorenzo	Panama	K	1980	Environmental factors, poor maintenance and uncontrollable urban development threaten the fortresses, once a splendid example of 17th and 18th century military architecture on the Caribbean coast.
2012	Timbuktu mosques , mausoleums and cemeteries	Mali	K	1988	The Malian government asked for the protection of the world heritage sites in the north of the country, which is affected by an armed conflict .
2012	Askia tomb	Mali	K	2004	The Malian government asked for the protection of the world heritage sites in the north of the country, which is affected by an armed conflict.
2012	Historic port city of Liverpool	United Kingdom	K	2004	Endangerment from a planned new building project that would destroy the historic character of the docks.
2013	Aleppo old town	Syria	K	1986	All world heritage sites are threatened by the civil war in Syria . It is also intended to draw attention to the risks to which they are exposed.
2013	Old town of Bosra	Syria	K	1980
2013	Old Damascus	Syria	K	1979
2013	Dead cities in northern Syria	Syria	K	2011
2013	Krak des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah ed-Din	Syria	K	2006
2013	Palmyra ruins	Syria	K	1980
2013	East Rennell	Solomon Islands	N	1998	Deforestation of island forests, sea level rise due to climate change, mining activities, commercial fishing and lowering of the water table associated with the ingress of sea water
2014	Potosí	Bolivia	K	1987	Mining and industry cause the groundwater level to drop and endanger the stability of the city's subsoil
2014	Selous Game Reserve	Tanzania	N	1982	Organized poaching has almost wiped out the reserve's wildlife.
2014	Battir Cultural Landscape	Palestine	K	2014	Drought and changes in land use endanger the character of the original landscape
2015	Ruins of the Parthian city of Hatra	Iraq	K	1985	Damage caused by armed groups
2015	Old City of Sanaa	Yemen	K	1986	Destruction and exposure to armed conflict
2015	Old town and city wall of Shibam	Yemen	K	1982	Potential exposure to armed conflict
2016	Old towns of Djenné	Mali	K	1988	Due to the unstable location in the region, the world heritage site can no longer be adequately protected.
2016	Historic center of Shahrisabz	Uzbekistan	K	2000	The demolition of old buildings and the construction of hotels and other modern structures in the vicinity of the medieval old town have led to an irreversible change in the historical cityscape.
2016	Leptis Magna archaeological site	Libya	K	1982	Since the beginning of the civil war in 2011, Libya has been extremely unstable. The presence of armed groups in the immediate vicinity of the World Heritage sites has already caused damage. Further destruction is to be feared.
2016	Sabratha archaeological site	Libya	K	1982
2016	Cyrene archaeological site	Libya	K	1982
2016	Rock paintings by Tadrart Acacus	Libya	K	1985
2016	Old town of Ghadames	Libya	K	1986
2016	Nan Madol	Micronesia	K	2016	Danger from silting up the waterways and overgrowth by the mangroves
2017	Historic center of Vienna	Austria	K	2001	Endangerment from a planned 66 meter high new building on Heumarkt .
2017	Old town of Hebron / al-Chalil	Palestine	K	2017	In an emergency application, the Palestinians campaigned for protection status, as they complain of increasing destruction in the old town, which they blame the Jewish settlers.
2018	National parks on Lake Turkana	Kenya	N	2018	The biotope is threatened by a dam.
2019	Islands and reserves of the Gulf of California	Mexico	N	2005	The heritage site was put on the Red List because of concerns about the imminent extinction of the endemic vaquita , which have an outstanding share in the inclusion as a World Heritage site.

Deletions from the Red List

The following world heritage sites were on the red list in the past, but have since been deleted. The deletions from the Red List listed here were due to the removal of the reason for inclusion in the Red List. For indirect deletions from the Red List as a result of the deletion of the endangered site from the list of World Heritage sites, see Former World Heritage .

Red list from ... to	site	Country	Type	World Heritage since	reasons
1979-2003	Bay and Kotor region	Montenegro	K / N	1979	The cities in the bay were destroyed by an earthquake in 1979. In the 1990s, uncontrolled construction threatened integrity.
1984-1988 and 2000-2006	Djoudj bird sanctuary	Senegal	N	1981	1984: Dams built on Senegal threatened the water balance in the delta. 2000: An invasive swimming fern was out of control.
1984-1989	Ngorongoro Nature Reserve	Tanzania	N	1979	The game population in the park was threatened by poaching and encroaching agriculture.
1984-1992	Garamba National Park	Democratic Republic of Congo	N	1980	The white rhinos in the national park have been almost wiped out by poaching. After being deleted since 1996, it has been on the red list again, see above .
1985-2007	Abomey Royal Palaces	Benin	K	1985	In 1984 a tornado caused severe damage in Abomey. Inadequate protective measures prevented the deletion for a long time.
1988-2004	Bahla Fortress	Oman	K	1987	Due to the lack of conservation efforts, the earthen buildings were regularly damaged by rainfall.
1989-1998	Wieliczka Salt Mine	Poland	K	1978	High humidity in the tunnels threatened to damage sculptures and tunnels.
1990-2005	Mosques, mausoleums and cemeteries of Timbuktu	Mali	K	1988	The erection of modern buildings threatened the cityscape. In 2003 a flood destroyed a number of late medieval buildings. Since 2012 on the red list again, see above .
1991-1998	Old town of Dubrovnik	Croatia	K	1979	The city was badly damaged in the Battle of Dubrovnik in 1991.
1992-1997	Plitvice Lakes National Park	Croatia	N	1979	The armed conflicts between Croats and Serbs in the area of ​​the park are considered to be the trigger for the establishment of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and led to destruction.
1992-2003	Srebarna Biosphere Reserve	Bulgaria	N	1983	With the construction of a dam at the Iron Gate , the area began to dry out and threatened the population of the Dalmatian pelicans .
1992-2004	Angkor , Roluos and Banteay Srei Archaeological Parks	Cambodia	K	1992	At the time of enrollment, Cambodia was under UN administration and there was no monument protection legislation. With the steadily increasing number of visitors in the following years, it took a long time for protective and restoration measures to take effect.
1992-2005	Sangay National Park	Ecuador	N	1983	The construction of a road threatened the integrity of the park.
1993-2007	Everglades National Park	United States	N	1979	The effects of Hurricane Andrew, along with increasing environmental pollution and disruptions to the water balance, threatened the park. On the red list again since 2010, see above .
1995-2003	Yellowstone National Park	United States	N	1978	Various interventions and negative influences (shooting down of bison to control diseases, mining in the peripheral regions, construction of tourist facilities, too liberal granting of hunting and fishing permits) threatened the park.
1996-2006	Ichkeul National Park	Tunisia	N	1980	The water balance of the wetland was damaged by dam construction and it threatened to become too salty.
1996-2007	Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve	Honduras	N	1982	Deforestation, expansion of agriculture and the intrusion of foreign animals and plants together with the plans for a dam threatened the tropical rainforest. Since 2011 on the red list again, see above .
1996-2017	Simien National Park	Ethiopia	N	1978	Shrinking of the extremely small Ethiopian Ibex population and increasing human settlement in the park area.
1997-2005	Butrint ruins	Albania	K	1992	Due to general neglect, the ruins were in poor condition.
1999-2001	Iguaçu National Park	Brazil	N	1986	Reopening a previously closed road would have split the park in half.
1999-2004	Ruwenzori Mountains	Uganda	N	1994	Between 1997 and 2001, the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group operated from the Ruwenzori Mountains . This led to the collapse of the management of the park.
1999-2006	Temple district of Hampi	India	K	1986	The construction of a bridge and an industrial park would have directed larger flows of motorized traffic into the protected area.
2002-2006	Ruined city Tipasa	Algeria	K	1982	Insufficient protection has led to vandalism, illegal settlements and constant disputes over property. In addition, there was not enough staff to deal with the erosion damage and deliberate destruction.
2003-2007	Kathmandu valley (e.g. Kathmandu , Bodnath , Patan , Bhaktapur and Pashupatinath / expanded in 2006)	Nepal	K	1979	The population pressure and the rapid urban development led to new buildings in the vicinity of the protected sites, which threatened their traditional appearance.
2003-2009	City of Baku with the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower	Azerbaijan	K	2000	After being damaged by an earthquake in 2000, uncontrolled building activity accelerated in the old town.
2003-2017	Comoé National Park	Ivory Coast	N	1983	The civil war in Ivory Coast had increased poaching.
2004-2006	Cologne cathedral	Germany	K	1996	The visual integrity of the cathedral and the skyline of Cologne were endangered by the high-rise plans on the opposite side of the Rhine from the cathedral.
2004-2013	Bam and its cultural landscape	Iran	K	2004	Bam was destroyed by an earthquake in 2003.
2004-2014	Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara	Tanzania	K	1981	Lack of measures to stop the ruins from falling into disrepair.
2007-2010	Galapagos Islands	Ecuador	N	1978	Increasing tourism and unauthorized settlement mean that more and more alien species are being introduced. The illegal settlers have been forcibly relocated to the mainland, and tourism is being more strictly controlled.
1992-2011	Manas National Park	India	N	1985	After an attack by a Bodo separatist group, the park was largely destroyed. The recovery and stabilization of the animal population is proceeding slowly.
2000-2012	Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore	Pakistan	K	1981	Two of the three cisterns that water the gardens were destroyed in favor of the construction of a road.
2001–2012	Rice terraces in the Filipino Cordillera	Philippines	K	1995	With the decreasing interest of the Ifugao in their traditional culture, the rice terraces were also increasingly neglected.
2009-2015	Los Katíos National Park	Colombia	N	1994	Illegal logging has resulted in deforestation within and around the park's edges. Significant improvements in the management of the national park led the World Heritage Committee to remove the park from the red list.
2009-2016	Historical monuments in Mtskheta	Georgia	K	1994	The masonry and frescoes clearly showed signs of destruction. At the 40th meeting of the WHC it was decided to remove the world heritage site from the list. This takes into account Georgia's efforts to improve the protection and management of the monuments.
2009-2018	Barrier Reef Nature Reserve of Belize	Belize	N	1996	Mangroves have been cut down on a large scale.
2010-2017	Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery in Kutaisi	Georgia	K	1994	The entry in the list of endangered world heritage was due to renovation work on the Bagrati Cathedral , which greatly changed the character of the site. In 2017 the Bagrati Cathedral was removed from the World Heritage Site. The remaining Gelati Monastery is no longer on the red list.
2012-2019	Birthplace of Jesus Christ: Church of the Nativity and Pilgrimage, Bethlehem	Palestine	K	2012	The roof tiles of the church have not been renewed since the 19th century. Penetrating rainwater damages the load-bearing elements as well as wall mosaics and paintings.
2005-2019	Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works	Chile	K	2005	Almost fifty years after the works were abandoned, the desert winds and thefts wreaked havoc. Some of the buildings are in acute danger of collapsing.

Web links

• World Heritage Committee page on the Red List: English , French .
• The Red List in English , French .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Convention for the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Goods, Art. 11 Paragraph 4
2. ↑ Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (official text in English; PDF; 1.2 MB), guidelines for the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage (German translation; PDF; 468 kB)
3. ↑ Guidelines (PDF; 468 kB), paragraphs 177–191
4. ↑ Guidelines (PDF; 468 kB), paragraphs 192–198
5. ^ List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed July 6, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Listed by UNESCO due to the disputed status of Kosovo under Serbia .
7. ↑ World Heritage Committee puts Medieval Monuments in Kosovo on Danger List Press release of the World Heritage Committee , July 13, 2006
8. ↑ World Heritage Committee inscribes Rainforests of Atsinanana (Madagascar) on List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 30, 2010, accessed May 27, 2017 . 
9. ↑ Danger listing for Indonesia's Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage Committee press release, June 22, 2011
10. ↑ ^{a b} Heritage sites in northern Mali placed on List of World Heritage in Danger Press release of the World Heritage Committee, June 28, 2012
11. ↑ World Heritage Committee places Liverpool on List of World Heritage in Danger World Heritage Committee press release, June 26, 2012
12. ↑ UNESCO: "Syria's Six World Heritage sites placed on List of World Heritage in Danger" from June 20, 2013, viewed on June 20, 2013
13. ↑ The Iraqi site of Hatra added to the List of World Heritage in Danger ( Memento of 2 July 2015 Webcite ) (English). UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 1st, 2015.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Yemen's Old City of Sana'a and Old Walled City of Shibam added to the List of World Heritage in Danger ( Memento of 2 July 2015 Webcite ) (English). UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 2nd, 2015.
15. ^ Mali's Old Towns of Djenné on List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 13, 2016, accessed July 17, 2016 . 
16. ↑ Historic Center of Shakhrisyabz, Uzbekistan, added to List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 13, 2016, accessed July 17, 2016 . 
17. ^ Libya's five World Heritage sites put on List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 14, 2016, accessed July 17, 2016 . 
18. ↑ Heumarkt puts Vienna under pressure to act on ORF from July 6, 2017, accessed on July 6, 2017
19. ↑ Nina Bärschneider: Behind Hebron's Wall. New Unesco World Heritage Site. Spiegel Online , July 13, 2017, accessed July 13, 2017 . 
20. ↑ Lake Turkana National Parks (Kenya) inscribed on List of World Heritage in Danger. June 30, 2018, accessed June 30, 2018 . 
21. ^ The Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (Mexico) inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 3, 2019, accessed July 6, 2019 . 
22. ^ World Heritage Committee removes the Iranian World Heritage site of Bam and its Cultural Landscape from danger listing. UNSECO World Heritage Committee, June 17, 2013, accessed May 27, 2017 . 
23. ↑ Colombia's Los Katíos National Park removed from List of Heritage in Danger June 30, 2015 (English)
24. ^ Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, Georgia, removed from List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO - The World Heritage Committee, July 13, 2016, accessed July 17, 2016 . 
25. ^ Gelati Monastery, Georgia, removed from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO World Heritage Center, July 10, 2017, accessed August 10, 2017 . 
26. ^ World Monuments Fund , accessed December 12, 2012

This version was included in the selection of informative lists and portals on December 12, 2008 .