World Heritage globally is threatened by climate change, in all sorts of ways. A new tool identifies the key risks and best strategies for both natural and cultural wonders.
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Articles on UNESCO World Heritage sites
Displaying 61 - 80 of 138 articles
A scholar analyzed data about UNESCO World Heritage sites to explain why European cultural relics like Notre Dame are so beloved, while splendid monuments elsewhere remain relatively unknown.
An image of a ship on a rock in Western Australia’s Dampier Archipelago depicts HMC Mermaid – the main vessel of Phillip Parker King, an unsung hero of Australian exploration.
The fire that devastated the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on April 15 is a historic event that reminds us of the symbolic power of national monuments.
Invasive pest ants cause billions of dollars worth of damage to crops, and threaten some of Australia’s World Heritage rainforests. The federal budget has pledged nearly $30m on wiping them out – but how?
Throughout the world, unique sites of natural and cultural heritage are protected for future generations. But what about sites on the moon that represent the beginning of the human space age?
Everyone knows the Great Barrier Reef is in peril. But a continent away, Western Australia’s Shark Bay is also threatened by marine heatwaves that could alter this World Heritage ecosystem forever.
The West, Russia and Japan all left their marks on China today. Urbanisation too is usurping the old China. This long, mixed heritage and what should be done with it remains contested.
Of 19 World Heritage sites across the country, only two, Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta, recognise the values of “living” Aboriginal culture. None of Australia’s three sites inscribed purely for cultural values recognises Aboriginal people.
Newly revealed documents show the Commonwealth government approved a controversial tourism plan for Tasmania’s World Heritage wilderness without assessing it against federal conservation legislation.
New coal mining operations could threaten
South Africa’s Mapungubwe World Heritage Site.
Rock art in the Dampier Archipelago and the Burrup Peninsula contains engravings of animals that are now extinct, such as thylacines and a fat-tailed species of kangaroos.
Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, but over the last four centuries it has aged and darkened from pollution.
An influx of tourists is irrevocably changing UNESCO-listed towns in Asia. Controls on visitor numbers are urgently needed.
Lake Turkana’s status as a World Heritage Site hasn’t protected it from environmental threats.
Many more people experience World Heritage online than in person. While that further elevates the status of iconic sites like the Sydney Opera House, it has other more complicated consequences too.
Imagine being one of the last few people alive. Would that make it ok to destroy the natural world? This thought experiment reveals the true value of nature, beyond the benefits to humans.
A suburb in the Irish city of Cork sets the standard for involving the community in heritage building conservation. Public engagement is the key to managing the inevitable conflicts.
Humans - the very “carriers” who can spread dangerous microbes unthinkingly from their equipment and shoes - can instead become the first line of defence against a possible microscopic invasion.
The US still owes UNESCO millions in arrears.
Top contributors
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PSM, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University
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Associate Professor in Physics, James Cook University
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Distinguished Professor, James Cook University
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Professor, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania
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Director, Centre for Rock Art Research + Management, The University of Western Australia
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Professor, The University of Queensland
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Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University
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Professor of International Law, University of Sydney
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
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Corporate governance lecturer, University of Tasmania
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Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland
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Professorial Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University
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Honorary Fellow in Economics, The University of Queensland
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Senior Lecturer in Architectural HIstory and Theory, UNSW & Honorary Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage (ACAHUCH), UNSW Sydney
