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Fund Lists Climate Change As Threat to Cultural Sites

Posted on: Friday, 8 June 2007, 06:00 CDT

By Jayne Clark

For the first time, global climate change has joined political conflict and development pressures as an underlying threat to cultural heritage sites, as cataloged by the World Monuments Fund on its biennial list of the 100 most endangered places.

The 2008 watch list, announced Wednesday, includes places in 58 countries on all seven continents. The WMF cites climate change as threatening spots from Canada's Herschel Island, an Inuit whaling town, to explorer Robert Falcon Scott's hut in Antarctica to the historic areas of New Orleans.

"Cultural heritage is part of what we're at risk of losing, and that point hasn't been made when you talk about climate change," says WMF president Bonnie Burnham.

Political strife in Iraq landed the country's cultural heritage sites on the list for the second consecutive time. Economic development pressures were named as endangering Machu Picchu in Peru, Old Damascus in Syria and the skyline of St. Petersburg, Russia, among others.

Besides New Orleans, five U.S. sites made the list: historic Route 66, the New York State Pavilion in Queens, Tutuveni petroglyph site on Arizona's Hopi reservation, the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla., and San Diego's Salk Institute. The public buildings in the Main Street Modern architectural style also are included.

The watch list is meant to bring attention to endangered cultural heritage sites. It was culled from more than 200 nominations and chosen by an international panel of experts in architecture, archaeology, art history and preservation.

For the complete list, visit WorldMonumentsWatch.org. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

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