Do you have a wish-list of world heritage sites to visit in your lifetime? Stop procrastinating. A new report says that many of the most renowned spots around the world are going to disappear shockingly soon.
One cold misty October morning, my brother and I and a few friends from college boarded the ferry at Battery Park, New York for the trip out to Liberty State Park New Jersey. We were on a CEGEP history class trip, and seeing the iconic Lady Liberty was one of the highlights.
If seeing her is something that interests you, maybe you should get on that. The new report from UNESCO lists some of the world’s most popular world heritage sports that are at risk of disappearing in the near future. The Statue of Liberty is among them.
According to the report, the Statue of Liberty is “at considerable risk from some of the impacts of climate change – especially sea-level rise, increased intensity of storms and storm surges.”
It is far from alone. According to UNESCO, “Climate change is affecting world heritage sites across the globe.” Other notable places at risk include Venice, The Galapagos Islands, and even some Canadian historical spots.
For example, the popular tourism destination of Old Town Lunenburg in Nova Scotia is vulnerable. According to the report: “Rising seas threaten to inundate some coastal land permanently, and higher water levels will also result in more damage from storm surges and flooding in parts of the Old Town that have not previously been affected. Many buildings and roads are vulnerable, and among those most at risk is one of Lunenburg’s major tourist attractions, the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, housed in a complex of historic buildings on the waterfront.”
For a full list of sites considered to be at risk around the world, you can download the UNESCO report here.
Alternately, this infographic (from the folks at DailyInfographic) summarizes ten iconic sites around the world that are disappearing fast. Some are expected to be gone in the next quarter century. So if there’s a world historic site you’ve been planning to see. Now’s the time.
Ten places to see before they’re gone
