geworldheritage

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S P A I N

Barcelona is a part of Spain’s Catalonia region and it is known for its architecture, with Antoni Gaudi being the most famous architect of them all in Barcelona. A lot of Barcelona’s famous attractions were designed by Gaudi with his main work being the Sagrada Church which was unfinished during the time of his death but was still attributed to him. UNESCO refers to these as the “The Works of Antoni Gaudi and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of his contribution to Catalan Modernism and development of architecture techniques in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The 7 sites are the following

Park Guell

a public park that features gardens and architectural works of Gaudi located in Carmel Hill

Palau Guell

one of the earlier works of Gaudi, a mansion made for Eusebi Guell in 1888

Casa Mila

also known as the La Pedrera or Stone Quarry which is a modernist building that served as a private residence made in 1912

Casa Vicens

The first private house that Gaudi designed and is now serving as a museum

La Sagrada Familia

Known to be the worlds only unfinished church, it is the most visited landmark in Spain and is Gaudi’s most important work. Even 100 years later it is unfinished but there are plans to finish it by 2026 by a team of architects led by Jordi Fauli

Casa Batllo

a building located in the center of Barcelona and is a remodel of a previous house that was built there. Considered to be a masterpiece of Catalan architecture.

Crypt of the Church at the Colonia Guell

also known as Gaudi’s Crypt is also an unfinished work of Antoni Gaudi that was used as a testing ground to develop the architecturial techniques used in the Sagrada Familia. It incorporated the Catalan vaults and was an experiment in social engineering.

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I T A L Y

If you’re fond of Venice’s winding cobblestone streets and hope to go for a romantic ride on a gondola though its canals, over-tourism may very well be what cripples its beauty. The origins of Venice come from Italian refugees fleeing from invaders who camped on the small islands of the Venice lagoon. Eventually merchant families emerged in the town and it developed as a trading center, owing to its wealth and power. Today, it receives millions of tourists wheeling their suitcases around its cobblestone streets. So much so that Venetian authorities may pledge anyone a fine if caught doing so up to 500 euros. Due to the increase of tourism, Venetian locals find these charges and proposed entrance fees useless as it does not deter the erosion of their quality of life nor does it improve the damaged environment. Environmentalists also claim that waves caused by cruise ships have eroded the underwater support of historic buildings and polluted the waters. In 2019, UNESCO opened discussions on the ongoing challenges facing Venice due to over-tourism. Damage caused by steam of cruise ships, new developments, and lack of an integrated management system place Venice as one of the most closely monitored site by UNESCO. For Venetian locals, many have expressed their displeasure with their residence as an Italian Disneyland. Some feel as if the proposed entrance fee would be an insult to Italians who want to visit their families while others believe that the extra cash could help fund the cleaning of waste left by daytrippers. Today we present the Venice lagoons, its buildings and people who have lost their heritage to the increase of the tourism industry.

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I N D I A

Welcome to a hidden world of rock-cut sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island. The place consists of seven caves dated mostly between the 5th and late 8th centuries; two are Buddhist caves while the other five are Hindu caves that are dedicated to god Shiva. The Elephanta Caves are one of the huge tourist attractions in India and every year thousands of people from India and abroad visit these caves to marvel at the sixteen hundred years old craftsmanship. However, many visitors also bring plastic bags full of food, garbage, and vandalism. Over the centuries, this world heritage site has suffered decay and degradation due to time, pollution, and unplanned tourism. The entire Elephanta Caves and the forested areas around them were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site way back in 1987. Legislation to shield the island monuments has existed since the 1950s but both the Maharashtra government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) turn a blind eye to the gradual, but visible, degradation of the spectacular carvings in the caves and the pollution of the Arabian Sea whose waters lap the mangrove forest around the island. Tourists hardly notice the defaced and vandalized rock carvings since they are busy taking pictures and selfies. Some of them clamber on the carvings at the Elephanta Caves in their narcissistic quest for a better selfie. While the guards, who are supposed to protect the site and prevent the errant visitors who are destroying the caves, are too busy explaining the ‘history’ and ‘myths’ behind the carvings. As a result, this world heritage site is included in UNESCO’s list of endangered heritage sites.

Fun Facts

The rooms are carved from solid basalt rock. Columns and pillars support the caves.

Hindus came here to worship

A large statue of an elephant guarded the island. It now sits in the Victoria Garden Zoo

The Portuguese invaded and conquered the area in 1547. The Portuguese soldiers damaged the caves and used the statues for target practice

Sources:

http://www.the-south-asian.com/Aug2004/Elephanta_caves.htm

https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/the-ancient-carvings-at-elephanta-caves-are-fading-and-no-one-cares/article30468682.ece

https://www.yatra.com/indian-monuments/mumbai/elephanta-caves

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I N D O N E S I A

This gorgeous scenery is the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. The rainforest is separated into three national parks, the Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park, and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The forest is home to various species of both, including endangered ones, animals, and plants. This is why the area is being protected. UNESCO and other activist organizations are attempting to preserve the distinctive biota that can be found within Sumatra.

Examples of distinctive species that can be found within the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra are the Sumatran Elephant, Sumatran Orang Utan, and the Sumatran Tiger. However, despite the rainforest being officially listed as a protected heritage site, the rainforest continues to face problems. According to the Philippine Information Agency, illegal logging, encroachment, and natural disasters have already collectively damaged 143, 735 hectares of the 2.5 million hectares of land. Although the development plans of the country have revolved around the conservation of the rainforest, there are still ways to go before we can ensure the preservation of the precious biodiversities within the rainforest.

Fun-facts

The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra is one of the largest producers of oxygen in the world.

The Tropical Rain forest Heritage of Sumatra contains biogeographic evidence of the evolution of the island

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C R O A T I A

Have you seen the series Game of Thrones? Are you a fan of the show? If yes, have you ever wondered where the shot location of King’s Landing and the Red Keep is? It is located in South Croatia in a city called Dubrovnik. Also known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic”, Dubrovnik boasts its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Due to armed conflict during the 1990’s it sustained damage but thanks to a restoration project led by UNESCO, it was able to bring back tourism into the city. Because of the Game of Thrones series on HBO, fans became eager to immerse themselves by visiting the real locations found on the show and because of this, the most famous location fans want to visit was King’s Landing or the old city walls of Dubrovnik. The number of visitors after the success of the show brought 60,000 people in the city per year causing overcrowding, alienation of the locals and a threat to culture and heritage but it did not stop there. Local market prices are on the rise and some locals are being displaced from their homes due to rising prices and damage to the local buildings are occurring since the number of arriving tourists and accommodation do not match yearly. The local government has started to address this issue by closing down plenty of souvenir shops in order to protect local crafts and banning outdoor seating of restaurants to widen pedestrian lanes to prevent congestion on walkways.

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C O N G O

Ever wanted to experience that Jumanji forest vibe? Well, this park is not exactly the forest that was used in filming Jumanji, but its structure is similar to it. Salonga National Park, located in the Republic of Congo, is the largest tropical rainforest reserve in Africa with an area of about 36,000 km2. This park Comprises of a mosaic of rivers, streams, marshlands, rainforests, and is home to 40% of the world’s Bonobos. Not only Bonobos live in this park, but also, Dryas monkeys, Thollon's red colobus, Congo peafowl, leopards, forest elephants, and African slender-snouted crocodiles. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has recorded that the Park harbors 51 species of mammals, 129 species of fish, and 223 species of birds. Aside from this, as the park comprises mostly rainforests, there are no roads accessible so the park can only be accessed by water or air. To give a trivia about this park, according to the government of Congo, the shape of the Salonga National Park is reminiscent of the human lungs, and in which nature breathes. Since 1984 the park has been listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage; however, in 1999, it was inscribed into the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. It was because of excessive poaching and illegal encroachments happening in the park. As of 2011, both the WWF and the IUCN are working together by taking steps to remove Salonga National Park from the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in Danger. Definitely, nature lovers should go to Salonga National Park as there are a lot of trees, the rivers and streams are clean, and most of all, it has a very relaxing and calming view.

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E G Y P T

Full of mysteries with valuable and significant Egyptian treasures are buried beneath its surface. Egypt, the land full of rich history and culture can be dated thousands of years backwards. Ancient Egyptian culture flourished between 5500 BCE with the rise of technology with evidence of glassworks of faience and 30 BCE with the death of Cleopatra VII. Today we can still partially witness how the Egyptians live in the past with some of the structures that have stood in Egypt till this day. There are numerous buried artifacts that are being recovered by specialists or historians. UNESCO has been helping in protecting the cultural sites in Egypt so that it can last for more years to come. The world heritage committee has inscribed Abu Mena in danger. Abu Mena is an archaeological site in Egypt and is significantly important in our history since it represents Christianism. It is one of the oldest Christian sites and the greatest pilgrimage destination. The Abu Mena site is in risk of collapsing wherein the authorities were forced to fill the bases with sand to help strengthen the structural base of some endangered buildings.