One of the earliest monastic sites in the Middle East that dates back to the 4th century, Saint Hilarion Monastery is currently located in an active conflict zone. — Unesco
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has added 24 new sites to its World Heritage List, bringing the total number to 1,223 worldwide. However, there is an uneven distribution of where these sites are located, particularly in terms of cultural heritage selection, data portal Statista highlights, with Unesco having historically inscribed by far the largest number of heritage sites in Europe and North America.
As Statista points out, despite the combined total land area for North America and Europe (34 million sq km) being similar to that of Africa (30 million sq km), 490 cultural sites have so far been inscribed from Europe and North America, compared with just 61 in Africa. The Asia and Pacific region have the second highest number of inscribed cultural sites at 211, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 103.
To appear on the list, countries must nominate a site. A Unesco representative then visits the site and makes a recommendation to the organisation, which makes the final decision.
There are many reasons a government may seek a Unesco World Heritage badge: It can bring global awareness to a location and enhance tourism there, and it can potentially impact the allocation of future funding. But at the same time, communities may be wary of putting forward a nomination due to risks such as over-tourism and the costs of maintaining a World Heritage site. Or else it may simply be a lower priority in a given country.
According to Statista’s writer Anna Flack, this is nothing new as experts have long criticised the list for being too Eurocentric for years.
University of California’s Assoc Prof Dr Victoria Reyes commented at The Conversation.com in a 2019 article that although Unesco stresses that World Heritage sites “belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory in which they are located”, the UN body “disproportionately reveres the cultural legacies of former European empires”.
She highlighted that, whether intentional or not, even in a practical sense, the long and bureaucratic nomination process also favours governments that are able and willing to divert resources towards applications.
Flack believes that the gap may start to narrow in the coming years, however, as Unesco has said that it is introducing measures such as trying to “improve the number of African heritage sites on the World Heritage List, through providing better support for African states carrying out local conservation projects and preparing World Heritage nomination files.”
Sites in danger
A Statista study of the current list of cultural World Heritage sites in danger shows that many are located in war zones and unstable states, like Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Venezuela, Libya, Mali, Ukraine, and Palestine.
Due to Israel’s current genocidal war on Gaza, Palestine saw one site recognised as a World Heritage site in danger this year: the Saint Hilarion Monastery, or Tell Umm Amer. Located in a coastal region in the Gaza Strip, it is one of the earliest monastic sites in the Middle East and dates back to the 4th century. How-ever, its location is now an active conflict zone.
Similarly, in 2023 the historic city centres of Ukrainian cities Lviv, Kiev, and Odessa were added to the list due to the ongoing war there, writes Statista data journalist Katharina Buchholz. She points out that other World Heritage monuments are threatened by construction projects, like historic sites in Egypt and Uzbekistan as well as Vienna’s historic centre, where Unesco is taking issue with the construction of a large new hotel.
Increased development in the city was also the reason why Liverpool in the UK lost its World Heritage status in 2021.
Venice and its lagoon was not added to the World Heritage sites in danger list after having been nominated last year. It would have been the only cultural heritage entry where climate change was having a significant impact.
Nepalese pilgrimage site Lumbibi, known as the birthplace of the Buddha, was recommended for inclusion due to disrepair, but was also ultimately not included.
The same is true of UK site Stonehenge, which is in the eyes of Unesco threatened by the construction of a new motorway tunnel.
After having received a warning in 2023, the site was recommended for in-danger status this year but the decision was postponed until 2026.
Adds Buchholz, among the sites receiving grave warnings in 2024 is the historic city of Budapest, Hungary’s capital; three natural sites in Russia including Lake Baikal; one of Europe’s last primeval forests, Bialowieza of Eastern Poland and Belarus; as well as another UK property, Derwent Valley Mills in Derbyshire in Central England (due to construction planned within the 18th-century cotton spinning site). — Agencies
There are many reasons a government may seek a Unesco World Heritage badge, from the fact it can bring global awareness to a location and enhance tourism there, to how it can potentially impact the allocation of future funding.
