. | . |
Climate change 'main threat' for world heritage sites By Joris FIORITI with Will VASSILOPOULOS in Delphi Paris (AFP) Nov 18, 2022 One of the world's first cities came close to being wiped off the map during tragic floods this summer in Pakistan. Though Mohenjo Daro survived, it has become a symbol of the threat global warming poses to humanity's cultural heritage. Built in around 3000 BC by the Indus civilisation in modern-day South Asia, Mohenjo Daro was not swept away by the floods, most likely thanks to the genius of its designers. Perched high above the Indus river, the city was equipped with a primitive drainage system and sewers, meaning much of the floodwaters could be evacuated. Nearly 1,600 Pakistanis died in the floods and 33 million others were affected in a disaster "probably" made worse by global warming, according to World Weather Attribution, a network of researchers. The ancient metropolis "could have disappeared with all the archaeological traces" it contains, said Lazare Eloundou Assamo, the director of the World Heritage programme at UN agency UNESCO. The Pakistani site was "a victim" of climate change and was "very lucky" to still be around, exactly 100 years since it was first discovered in 1922, Assamo said. Fortunately, "the situation is not catastrophic" in Mohenjo Daro, said Thierry Joffroy, a specialist in brick architecture who visited the site on behalf of UNESCO. Despite ground sinking in some areas and water damage to some structures, the site "can be repaired," Joffroy said. - 'Huge impact' - For 50 years, Paris-based UNESCO has compiled a list of World Heritage sites, significant places that are deemed worthy of protection, and is marking the milestone this week in Greece. "To protect this heritage ourselves... is to confront the consequences of climate disruption and the loss of biodiversity. It's the main threat... that we assess in a tangible way," UNESCO director Audrey Azoulay told the conference in Delphi on Thursday. Of its 1,154 World Heritage sites, "one site in five, and more than a third of natural sites, already see this threat as a reality," she said. "We are experiencing many more incidents of floods, hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons," said Rohit Jigyasu of the International Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). "We have these climate-related disasters, which are having a huge impact on sites, for example Mohenjo Daro," he said. Huge forest fires have scorched the Rocky Mountains in Canada, which are a world heritage site, and this year flames came within 15 kilometres (nine miles) of Delphi as heatwave intensify the severity of wildfires across the Mediterranean basin. In Peru, meanwhile, landslides occurred this year at the foot of Machu Picchu in the Andes mountains. Other less noticeable changes can also have serious consequences. In Australia, the protected Great Barrier Reef is experiencing bleaching episodes due to rising water temperatures. In Ghana, erosion has washed away part of Fort Prinzenstein, which is conserved as a notable slave trading post. - Termites and drought - "Slow factors" that do not have an immediate impact pose "new kinds of risks in many of these sites," Jigyasu said. These include invasions of wood-eating termites in areas that were previously either too dry or too cold for the insects to thrive. In other countries, the drying out of soil due to declining rainfall can have a "destabilising" effect on some heritage sites, said Aline Magnien, director of the French state-funded Laboratory for Research on Historical Monuments. Under drought conditions, "the soils contract and... make the foundations move", then "swell suddenly when it rains", which causes cracking, she said. When parched and hard, they absorb less water, which promotes flooding. "We may have certain heritage sites that we will not be able to save, that we will not be able to transmit, which will perhaps be doomed to disappear", said Ann Bourges, a researcher from the French culture ministry. "It's not just the heritage that is affected when you lose part of it, but all the social system around it," added Bourges, who is also secretary general of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (Icomos), an NGO. In Mongolia, archaeological sites have been abandoned then looted because "the population no longer had access to water", Jigyasu added. Expected water shortages in the future could also lead to an increase of conflicts in which important heritage sites might be lost.
Don't abandon 1.5C warming limit, says Paris accord architect Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (AFP) Nov 17, 2022 The world is in danger of blasting past its goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, said climate champion Laurence Tubiana, slamming a "flagrant" lack of global leadership. France's former climate ambassador was one of the key architects behind the Paris Agreement, which says global warming should be slashed to well below two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, and preferably the safer ambition of 1.5C. But even with new commitments, the world is on track to heat up by about 2.5 ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |