© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
November 29, 2000

CAIRNS, Australia, November 29, 2000 (ENS) - A national bird sanctuary in Senegal, a fort and terraced gardens in Pakistan, and an ancient town in Yemen have been added to the List of World Heritage in Danger.

During its 24th annual meeting here, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added the three sites to a list that will provide some promise of protection due to additional attention paid to the vulnerabilities of these sites.

The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary in Senegal, the Historic Town of Zabid in Yemen, and the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan, are the new additions. Only the Djoudj site was listed for its natural values, the others were listed for their cultural values.

Situated in the Senegal River Delta, the Djoudj Sanctuary is a wetland of 16,000 hectares (61.7 square miles), which form a vital but fragile sanctuary for 1.5 million birds, such as the white pelican, the purple heron, the African spoonbill, the great egret and the cormorant.

The sanctuary is now threatened by the invasion of a water plant, Salvinia molesta, which has crossed over the Senegal River and invaded the Diawling National Park of Mauritania.

An attempt was made in June to use biological control methods by releasing plant eating beetles provided by South Africa, but this has proved to be inadequate.

Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on Africa's west coast is already protected as a World Heritage Site and as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

The national authorities in Senegal are in agreement with the inscription on the List so as to facilitate their task and help them appeal for financial support from donors.

In response to a request from the Pakistani government that the international community take action to safeguard the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, the UNESCO committee has placed the site on the list of Heritage in Danger.

Evidence of the brilliant Mogul civilisation, the fort contains palaces and marble mosques decorated with mosaics and gilt. The gardens, built on three terraces with lodges, waterfalls and large ornamental ponds, "are an example of a rarely equalled sophistication," the committee said.

Tanks built 375 years ago to supply water to the garden's fountains were destroyed in June 1999 to widen the road which borders the gardens on the south. The perimeter walls of the garden are also deteriorating.

The third listed site is the Historic Town of Zabid, a former capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century. Zabid was an important city in the Arab and Muslim world for centuries because of its Islamic university.

Today the city is in decline and in a very poor state of conservation. A mission of experts found that around 40 percent of the old city's houses have been replaced by concrete buildings, and other houses and the ancient souk are in a deteriorating state.

Historic Town of Zabid, Yemen

The Yemeni government had asked for Zabid to be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger to facilitate its preservation.

Today's actions brings the total number of sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger to 30. Among them are natural reserves and historic sites such as Angkor in Cambodia, the Everglades and Yellowstone National Parks in the United States, Timbuktu in Mali and several parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened by ongoing wars.

The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the characteristics for which a site was originally inscribed on the World Heritage List and help to take corrective preservation measures.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee continues its meeting through December 2. It is reviewing 71 sites proposed by 43 countries for placement on the World Heritage List.

The 21 member committee determines the inclusion of sites on the World Heritage List on the recommendation of two advisory bodies: the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), for cultural sites, and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), for natural sites.

The full list of places on the List in Danger is online at: http://www.unesco.org/whc/danglist.htm.

For the latest information on World Heritage, visit the UNESCO World Heritage Centre at: http://www.unesco.org/whc/welcome.htm. Error: Unable to read footer file.