Mangrove forests are shrinking due to human activities, yet they’re essential for shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. Ongoing research explores the concept of “floating” mangrove forests.
A team in Argentina is using sensors based on TinyML technology to study Chelonoidis chilensis tortoises. Little is known about its biology and the species is in a vulnerable state. The small sensors, in black on the shell, are small enough to allow the animal to move freely.
Traditionally dominated by the use of centralised, resource-intensive servers, machine learning is being democratised with the growth of “TinyML”, distinguished by its small size and low cost.
On 27 October 2022, Elon Musk posted “The bird is freed” on Twitter. A year later, some “NatCon” (conservative nationalist) accounts have been restored, but X remains selective.
Koshiro K/Shutterstock
When Elon Musk took control of Twitter, many were concerned about the reappearance of extremist accounts. In retrospect, X has shown itself to be selective.
At a depth of more than 60 metres, the gorgonians are healthy, colourful and in good condition, protected from the rise in temperature.
Alexis Rosenfeld/Unesco
In the Mediterranean, heat waves are decimating underwater forests that are essential to ecosystems. The gorgonians seem to be better able to resist in the depths, but this refuge may only be temporary.
Digital 3D image of Shahjahanabad, which was once the capital of the Mughal empire.
Vaibhav Rajan/University of Twente
Once the capital of the Mughal empire, Old Delhi is now under threat. Geo-information technology can reveal its previous form, function, and context, however, and so help preserve and bring it back to life.
Street market and the Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, which was designated a world heritage site by Unesco in 1988. During the pandemic, the town was hard hit by illegal excavations and looting.
Giv/Wikipedia
The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole. A recent Unesco report reveals that it has also took a large toll on world heritage sites.
The Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Baluarte is just one of the attractions on Mozambique Island.
Francesco Monteiro/UNESCO
The Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to make tourism more sustainable in Africa, improving the lives of local communities rather than just catering to international visitors.
Genoa’s historic centre is an outstanding example of an integrated urban ensemble.
Pixabay
Designed to act as a call for ideas and projects by all of Genoa’s stakeholders, Rolli Lab seeks to enhance the World Heritage site’s impact on city’s cultural, social and economic activity.
In the Sundarbans swamp, pneumatophores are upward growths of mangrove root systems that allow them to capture oxygen.
https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/pneumatophores-mangrove-forest-bed-green-moss-2130650117
Sara Ahmed, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune
On the border between India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans suffer from overexploitation and rising sea levels. With a “Climate Wall” project, a virtual museum is raising awareness and increasing resiliency.
Gongsanseong Fortress in the Baekje Historic Areas of Gongju.
Baekje World Heritage Center
To boost their attractiveness to tourists and residents alike, in 2020 the towns of Gongju and Buyeo – once Imperial capitals – launched the “Smart Town Challenge” to link online and offline services.
Mayotte’s surrounding coral reef is made up of three different structures more than 350 kilometers long. The lagoon they form is threatened by climate change and erosion.
Axelspace
Noro Ravoavahy, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM)
Mayotte is no exception to the adage “small islands, big problems”. A newly born volcano combined with poor land management and accelerating climate change has put its fabled lagoon at risk.
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress in the province of L'Aquila in Italy. It bears witness to the long relationship between humanity and mountains, and how natural landscapes are also culture ones.
UNESCO
Often thought of as eternal, mountains are vulnerable to climate change and tourism. To protect them, they should be recognised for their cultural values, not just their natural characteristics.
Switzerland’s Great Aletsch Glacier is 23km long and located in the World Heritage site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch. It leads the list of glaciers in the European Alps in terms of length and size, yet since the mid-19th century, it has lost more than 25% of its volume.
Jo in Riederalp/Wikipedia
Rising temperatures and extreme weather pose an existential threat to many UNESCO World Heritage sites, but widespread discussion is needed for meaningful change.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial, known as the Genbaku Dome, was one of the few surviving structures after the city was hit by an atomic bomb in 1945. Its ruins bear witness to the 140,000 people who died, and spreads the message of “no more Hiroshimas”.
Metrotrekker
World heritage sites play an essential role in advancing Unesco’s goals, but more foresight is needed to imagine and enable promising strategies that address the needs of future generations.
A view of the oil refinery on Khark Island, located 25km off the coast of Iran.
AFP
With accelerating climate change making the need to decarbonise clearer by the day, two oil-dependent countries weigh how to preserve and present their historical fossil fuel infrastructure.
The Market Gardeners’ District in Bamberg is made up of several hectares of land encircled by densely built small houses of a distinct style.
Unesco
Urban farming is an ancient tradition in Bamberg, and the gardeners’ district is an integral part of the World Heritage City, growing food, promoting sustainability and fighting climate change.
The Berezinsky Reserve in Belarus is one of the few corners of the European portion of the southern taiga that is in pristine condition.
Denis Ivkovich/Unesco
The world needs to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. We won’t achieve this goal without using new technology to patrol and preserve marine protected areas.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures (FOCI) Consortium, Memorial University, Canada, and Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania
PhD student in Environmental Science, Scientific Researcher at the National Institute for Research & Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies Cluj-Napoca, Babes Bolyai University