The World Monuments Fund has released its 2022 World Monuments Watch list, a selection of 25 sites from across the globe that hold great cultural and heritage significance but are being faced with economic, political, or natural threats. This year's selection highlights themes of global issues such as climate change, imbalanced tourism, underrepresentation, and recovery from the crisis, urging for prompt preservation plans.
Launched in 1996, the World Monuments Watch announces a list every two years featuring sites nominated by global community-based organizations and individuals. Since the program’s inception, the organization has raised awareness about heritage places in need of protection and has contributed more than $110 million towards projects with an additional $300 million from external sources. This year, the list included 24 countries with nearly 12,000 years of history, highlighting how global challenges take a heavy toll on heritage sites. The 2022 open call resulted in more than 225 nominations that underwent internal and external review by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and an independent panel of international heritage experts.
Read on to discover some sites from the list of endangered sites selected by the jury!
1. Mosque city of Bagerhat– Bangladesh
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/321/
2. La Maison du peuple– Burkina Faso
Source: https://www.wmf.org/project/la-maison-du-peuple-ouagadougou
3. Fortified manors of Yongtai– Fuji Yan provenience China
Source: https://www.wmf.org/project/fortified-manors-yongtai
4. Tiretta Bazaar- India
5. Koagannu mosques and cemetery– Maldives
Source: https://www.wmf.org/project/koagannu-mosques-and-cemetery
6. Teotihuacan– Mexico
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/414/
7. Tomb of Jahangir– Pakistan
Source: https://www.wmf.org/project/tomb-jahangir
8. Soqotra Archipelago- Yemen
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1263/gallery/
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