The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee, in accordance with Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: Convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and was established in 1972 to designate and manage World Heritage Sites. The list includes sites that are under threat and whose conservation requires major interventions and for which "assistance has been requested". It is intended to raise international awareness of these threats and to encourage counteractive measures against them. Threats to a site can be either proven imminent threats or potential dangers to a site.
For natural sites, ascertained dangers include the serious decline in the population of an endangered or other valuable species, as well as the deterioration of a property's natural beauty or scientific value caused by human activities. These activities may include logging, pollution, settlement, mining, agriculture or major public works. For cultural properties, ascertained dangers include the serious deterioration of materials, structure, ornamentation, or architectural coherence, as well as the loss of historical authenticity or cultural significance. Potential dangers for both cultural and natural sites include development projects, armed conflicts, inadequate management systems or changes in the legal protective status of the properties. For cultural sites, gradual changes resulting from geological, climatic, or environmental factors may also be potential dangers.
Before a property is inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, its condition is assessed and a potential programme for corrective measures is developed in cooperation with the State Party involved. The final decision about inscription is made by the committee. Financial support from the World Heritage Fund may be allocated by the committee for listed properties. The state of conservation is reviewed yearly, after which the committee may request additional measures, delete the property from the list if the threats have ceased or consider deletion from both the List of World Heritage in Danger and the World Heritage List. Of the three former UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Dresden Elbe Valley and the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City were delisted after placement on the List of World Heritage in Danger while the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was directly delisted. Some sites have been designated as World Heritage Sites and World Heritage in Danger in the same year, such as the Church of the Nativity, traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus.
, there are 53 sites (14 natural and 39 cultural) on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Arranged by UNESCO regions, 22 of the listed sites are in the Arab States, 12 in Africa, six in Latin America and the Caribbean, six in Asia and the Pacific, and seven in Europe and North America. The majority of the endangered natural sites (nine) are in Africa. The list encompasses sites identified as facing threats to their integrity, which may arise from natural disasters, armed conflict, neglect, pollution, unsustainable tourism, or other hazards. Among these sites, the impacts of armed conflict are evident in countries such as Syria, where several sites, including the Ancient City of Aleppo and the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, endangered as a result of the Syrian civil war. In Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has multiple listings due to threats such as military conflict and environmental degradation affecting its national parks.
Criticism In some cases, inclusion on the danger list has sparked conservation efforts and prompted the release of funds, benefitting sites such as the Galápagos Islands and Yellowstone National Park, both later removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Despite this, the list itself and UNESCO's implementation of it have been subject to criticism. In particular, States Parties and other stakeholders have questioned the authority of the World Heritage Committee to designate a site as in danger without their consent.
Until 1992, when UNESCO set a precedent by placing several sites on the danger list against the wishes of the respective States Parties, such parties would typically submit a programme of corrective measures before a site was listed. Rather than being used solely for its intended purpose, the List of World Heritage in Danger is perceived by some states as a "blacklist" and, according to Christina Cameron, Professor at the School of Architecture and Canada Research Chair on Built Heritage at the University of Montreal, has been used as a political tool to get the attention of States Parties.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has noted that UNESCO has, in a number of cases, referenced the List of World Heritage in Danger without formally inscribing a site, particularly where threats could be easily addressed by the State Party. The Union has also argued that the prolonged retention of sites on the danger list is questionable and that other mechanisms for conservation should be sought in such cases.
Current list