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World Heritage Danger List needs overhaul

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-30 21:37

SEVILLE, Spain: The Danger List of World Heritage Sites needs radical change if it is to remain an effective conservation tool, according to a latest report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Under the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Committee can inscribe sites under serious threat on the list. It is intended to be a constructive conservation tool which mobilizes the international community to support national efforts, said an IUCN press release during the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee held here in Spain.

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However, putting a site on the danger list is now often seen by governments as criticism on their efforts to protect it, according to the IUCN report, which urged a reestablishment of the danger list as a way to ensure and maintain credible standards for protecting the world's natural and cultural treasures.

The list "is not working as it was intended, and it needs an overhaul," said Tim Badman, IUCN's Special Advisor on World Heritage.

"There are good examples of how the list has led to positive conservation action, but more often than not its use is resisted. We want to change the way the danger list is used, so that it turns international concern into real conservation results."

Earlier this week, Los Katios National Park and the Belize Barrier Reef were added to the danger list during the ongoing session in Seville.

But a third threatened site, the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, was not included despite IUCN's recommendation.

Reports from monitoring missions show that Indonesia's last remaining intact forest wilderness is facing the threats of road construction, illegal logging, poaching, uncontrolled tourism, as well as insufficient support from the government and needs an emergency restoration plan.

According to IUCN's Tilman Jaeger, the situation there fundamentally threatens the survival of key species such as the Sumatran tiger, rhino, orangutan and elephant.

"We need to restore the idea that the danger list is not a black mark for countries, but a way of drawing attention and providing support to the sites that need it the most," he said.

The 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee is scheduled to conclude later on Tuesday.