Posted by Esarhaddon from accel12.lax.untd.com (64.136.26.22) on Saturday, July 05, 2003 at 0:28AM :
Am I reading this wrong?
"UNESCO Names Endangered Heritage Sites in Iraq and Afghanistan."
This organization always comes to the aid of people and heritage at the end of the road instead of inception point.
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UNESCO Names Endangered Heritage Sites in Iraq, Afghanistan
A UNESCO committee voted yesterday to designate as World Heritage Sites the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan and Ashur in Iraq while simultaneously putting them on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. Together the actions constitute what is known as an "emergency inscription" on the World Heritage List (UNESCO release, July 2).
The World Heritage Committee, meeting since June 30 in Paris, puts sites on the "in danger list" when it determines that threats such as natural disasters, pollution, war, looting or poorly managed tourism are endangering the grandeur of a site (UNESCO release II, July 2).
Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley, a showcase for Buddhist art dating back to the first century, is most famous for two giant Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, despite the urgent pleading of the United Nations and historical experts. The committee said the stone niches where the damaged statues remain are in danger of collapse, and murals in nearby caves are deteriorating. Looting is also a concern, and land mines have made some cultural sites inaccessible.
The ancient city of Ashur, located on the Tigris River in Iraq, dates back to the third millennium B.C. and served as the first capital of the Assyrian Empire. It was nominated as a World Heritage Site before this year's war in Iraq because a large dam project would have flooded part of the site. The dam project has been suspended, but the committee warns that its potential revival remains a threat to Ashur (UNESCO release).
The committee also removed three sites — the Kotor region in Serbia and Montenegro, the Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria and Yellowstone National Park in the United States — from its list of imperiled World Heritage Sites. The de-listing means the committee has determined the threats have been successfully mitigated.
The Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor, in a natural harbor on the Adriatic Sea in Serbia and Montengro, was a famous artistic and cultural center in the Middle Ages. Its emergency inscription on the World Heritage List and the "in danger" list in 1979 followed an earthquake that year that leveled 70 percent of the buildings in the town and severely damaged four Romanesque cathedrals. The committee de-listed the site because it said restoration had gone well, but members warned that rampant urbanization around the site merited vigilance.
Bulgaria's Srebarna Nature Reserve, added to the World Heritage List in 1983, is a freshwater lake near the Danube that serves as a breeding ground for 100 species of birds and as a migratory stop for 80 more. It was listed as endangered in 1992 because of reduced water flow and other habitat destruction. Bulgaria's efforts to divert water from the Danube to the lake and its intent to restore the reserve, apparent in the adoption of a management plan, resulted in the site's de-listing.
The United States' Yellowstone, the world's first national park and home to two-thirds of the planet's known geysers, was named a World Heritage Site in 1978 but put on the "in danger" list in 1995 because of a potential nearby mining operation, overwhelming tourism, the introduction of non-native trout in its waters and threats to its bison herd as evidenced in plans to slaughter them in large numbers to stop brucellosis from spreading to domestic cattle. With the abandonment of the mining operation and other progress, the committee approved its de-listing (UNESCO release II).
The head of the U.S. National Park Service, however, contends that a U.S. Department of the Interior report used by UNESCO to determine Yellowstone's status downplayed persistent problems. In an unprecedented decision, the U.N. agency has asked the United States to report back to it on trout, bison and other issues (U.N. Wire, July 2 ).
I wonder if this is the only capacity the U.N. officials will be involve in rebuilding Iraq?
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UNESCO Names Endangered Heritage Sites in Iraq, Afghanistan
A UNESCO committee voted yesterday to designate as World Heritage Sites the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan and Ashur in Iraq while simultaneously putting them on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. Together the actions constitute what is known as an "emergency inscription" on the World Heritage List (UNESCO release, July 2).
The World Heritage Committee, meeting since June 30 in Paris, puts sites on the "in danger list" when it determines that threats such as natural disasters, pollution, war, looting or poorly managed tourism are endangering the grandeur of a site (UNESCO release II, July 2).
Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley, a showcase for Buddhist art dating back to the first century, is most famous for two giant Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, despite the urgent pleading of the United Nations and historical experts. The committee said the stone niches where the damaged statues remain are in danger of collapse, and murals in nearby caves are deteriorating. Looting is also a concern, and land mines have made some cultural sites inaccessible.
The ancient city of Ashur, located on the Tigris River in Iraq, dates back to the third millennium B.C. and served as the first capital of the Assyrian Empire. It was nominated as a World Heritage Site before this year's war in Iraq because a large dam project would have flooded part of the site. The dam project has been suspended, but the committee warns that its potential revival remains a threat to Ashur (UNESCO release).
The committee also removed three sites — the Kotor region in Serbia and Montenegro, the Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria and Yellowstone National Park in the United States — from its list of imperiled World Heritage Sites. The de-listing means the committee has determined the threats have been successfully mitigated.
The Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor, in a natural harbor on the Adriatic Sea in Serbia and Montengro, was a famous artistic and cultural center in the Middle Ages. Its emergency inscription on the World Heritage List and the "in danger" list in 1979 followed an earthquake that year that leveled 70 percent of the buildings in the town and severely damaged four Romanesque cathedrals. The committee de-listed the site because it said restoration had gone well, but members warned that rampant urbanization around the site merited vigilance.
Bulgaria's Srebarna Nature Reserve, added to the World Heritage List in 1983, is a freshwater lake near the Danube that serves as a breeding ground for 100 species of birds and as a migratory stop for 80 more. It was listed as endangered in 1992 because of reduced water flow and other habitat destruction. Bulgaria's efforts to divert water from the Danube to the lake and its intent to restore the reserve, apparent in the adoption of a management plan, resulted in the site's de-listing.
The United States' Yellowstone, the world's first national park and home to two-thirds of the planet's known geysers, was named a World Heritage Site in 1978 but put on the "in danger" list in 1995 because of a potential nearby mining operation, overwhelming tourism, the introduction of non-native trout in its waters and threats to its bison herd as evidenced in plans to slaughter them in large numbers to stop brucellosis from spreading to domestic cattle. With the abandonment of the mining operation and other progress, the committee approved its de-listing (UNESCO release II).
The head of the U.S. National Park Service, however, contends that a U.S. Department of the Interior report used by UNESCO to determine Yellowstone's status downplayed persistent problems. In an unprecedented decision, the U.N. agency has asked the United States to report back to it on trout, bison and other issues (U.N. Wire, July 2 ).
-- Esarhaddon
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