Former UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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An oryx in the Wildlife Reserve in Al Wusta in 2012. The reserve was formerly the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was delisted in 2007. Arabian Oryx Sanctuary.jpg
An oryx in the Wildlife Reserve in Al Wusta in 2012. The reserve was formerly the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was delisted in 2007.

World Heritage Sites may lose their designation when the UNESCO World Heritage Committee determines that they are not properly managed or protected. The committee can place a site it is concerned about on its list of World Heritage in Danger of losing its designation, and attempts to negotiate with the local authorities to remedy the situation. If remediation fails, the committee then revokes its designation.

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A country may also request to reduce the boundaries of one of its existing sites, in effect partially or fully delisting such properties. Under the World Heritage guidelines, a country must report to the committee whenever one of its properties "inscribed on the World Heritage List has seriously deteriorated, or when the necessary corrective measures have not been taken." [1]

Three sites have been completely delisted from the World Heritage List: the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman, the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany and Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in the United Kingdom. [2] [3]

Delisted sites

Arabian Oryx Sanctuary

In 2007, Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was the first site to be removed from UNESCO's World Heritage List. [4] The sanctuary had become a World Heritage Site in 1994. Poaching and habitat degradation had nearly wiped out the oryx population. The delisting was done in reaction to the government's decision to reduce the size of the sanctuary by 90 per cent after oil had been found at the site. [5] Only four breeding pairs of oryx were counted at the time of the removal of the designation. [6]

Dresden Elbe Valley

Construction for the Waldschlosschen Bridge over the Elbe River. The Dresden Elbe Valley was delisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to the bridge's construction. 20100501040DR Dresden-Johannstadt Waldschlosschenbrucke.jpg
Construction for the Waldschlösschen Bridge over the Elbe River. The Dresden Elbe Valley was delisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to the bridge's construction.

On 25 June 2009, the committee of UNESCO voted to remove the status of World Heritage Site of the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany on the basis that the Waldschlösschen Bridge that was under construction since 2007 would bisect the valley. [7] The 20 km-long (12 mi) site had been selected as a World Heritage Site in 2004. The delisting was preceded by a long and protracted struggle between local Dresden authorities in favour of the bridge and their opponents. The bridge was proposed to remedy inner-city traffic congestion. [8] A referendum had been conducted in 2005 about building the bridge without informing the voters that the UNESCO designation was at stake. [9] In 2006 the site was placed on the endangered list until 2008, at which time a one-year extension was granted. When the construction of the bridge continued, a second extension was declined and at its 2009 meeting in Seville the committee voted 14 to 5 to delist the site. This was the second delisting of a World Heritage Site. [10] [11] While a majority of local residents polled indicated that Dresden's UNESCO title was unnecessary, the delisting removed funding to support the site and has been termed an "embarrassment". [10] The Waldschlösschen Bridge was officially opened on 24 August 2013. [12]

Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City

Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium, one of the projects that resulted in Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City being delisted, under construction in April 2023 with the Victoria Tower to the right Victoria Tower and construction of the new Everton Stadium (geograph 7449307).jpg
Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium, one of the projects that resulted in Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City being delisted, under construction in April 2023 with the Victoria Tower to the right

On 21 July 2021, the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in Liverpool in the United Kingdom became the third site to be removed from UNESCO's World Heritage List. [2] [3] It had become a World Heritage Site in 2004, consisting of six locations in the city centre, for being "the supreme example of a commercial port at a time of Britain's greatest global influence". [13] In 2012, the World Heritage Committee voted to add the site to the endangered list on the basis that the proposed Liverpool Waters redevelopment project would result in a "serious loss of historic authenticity". [14] [15]

The committee later issued a warning in 2017 that the site risked being delisted in light of the development proposals, with English Heritage asserting that the proposed Liverpool Waters development would leave the setting of some of Liverpool's most significant historic buildings "severely compromised", the archaeological remains of parts of the historic docks "at risk of destruction", and "the city's historic urban landscape [...] permanently unbalanced". [16]

In March 2021, Liverpool City Council's planning committee granted approval for the construction of the £500m Everton Stadium, [17] and the World Heritage Committee voted 13 to 5, with 2 abstentions, to delist the site in July because of the "irreversible loss of attributes". [2] [3] However, the reaction from a small sample of Liverpudlians was mixed, some positing that the site's placing on the World Heritage List made it impossible to develop its more derelict areas and forced the city to keep aesthetically attractive but presently uneconomically viable buildings [18] while others doubted tourist numbers would change as a consequence. [19]

Partially delisted sites

Bagrati Cathedral

UNESCO removed Bagrati Cathedral in Georgia from its World Heritage Sites in 2017, considering its major reconstruction detrimental to its integrity and authenticity. Both it and Gelati Monastery were inscribed as a joint World Heritage Site in 1994, then added to the endangered list in 2010. The World Heritage Committee voted in 2017 to retain Gelati Monastery on the list but exclude Bagrati Cathedral. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Heritage Site</span> Place of significance listed by UNESCO

World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection by an international convention administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loschwitz Bridge</span> Bridge in Dresden

Loschwitz Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge over the river Elbe in Dresden the capital of Saxony in Germany. It connects the city districts of Blasewitz and Loschwitz, two affluent residential areas, which around 1900 were amongst the most expensive in Europe. It is located close to Standseilbahn Dresden funicular railway and the world's oldest suspension railway Schwebebahn Dresden, as well as near the Dresden TV tower. The bridge is colloquially referred to as Blaues Wunder. This common name purportedly referred to the bridge's original blue colour and being seen as a technological miracle at the time; it is also understood to carry the cynical connotation referencing the German idiom ein blaues Wunder erleben meaning "to experience an unpleasant surprise", reflecting the skeptical view of contemporary commentators. There is also a bridge in Wolgast known as Blaues Wunder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabian oryx</span> Species of antelope

The Arabian oryx or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus Oryx, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private reserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Reserve in Al Wusta</span> Animal sanctuary in the Omani Central Desert and Coastal Hills

The Wildlife Reserve in Al Wusta, formerly the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, is a nature reserve in the Omani Central Desert and Coastal Hills. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, but became the first site to be removed from the World Heritage list in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Heritage Sites by country</span>

As of July 2024, there are a total of 1,223 World Heritage Sites located across 168 countries, of which 952 are cultural, 231 are natural, and 40 are mixed properties. The countries have been divided by the World Heritage Committee into five geographical regions: Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. With 60 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites, followed by China with 59, and Germany with 54.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dresden Elbe Valley</span> Cultural landscape and former World Heritage Site in Germany

The Dresden Elbe Valley is a cultural landscape and former World Heritage Site stretching along the Elbe river in Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, Germany. The valley, extending for some 20 kilometres (12 mi) and passing through the Dresden Basin, is one of two major cultural landscapes built up over the centuries along the Central European river Elbe, along with the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm downstream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagrati Cathedral</span> 11th-century cathedral in Kutaisi, Georgia

The Cathedral of the Dormition, or the Kutaisi Cathedral, more commonly known as Bagrati Cathedral, is an 11th-century cathedral in the city of Kutaisi, in the Imereti region of Georgia. A masterpiece of medieval Georgian architecture, the cathedral suffered heavy damage throughout centuries and was reconstructed to its present state through a gradual process starting in the 1950s, with controversial conservation works concluding in 2012. These works prompted UNESCO to include the cathedral on its list of endangered World Heritage Sites, and then to remove the church from the World Heritage list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Council of Dresden</span> City council in Saxony, Germany

The City Council of Dresden is the elected representative body of the citizens of Dresden that administers the affairs of Dresden a self-governing city kreisfreie Stadt in the Free State of Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldschlösschen Bridge</span> Bridge across the Elbe in Dresden, Germany

The Waldschlösschen Bridge is a road bridge across the Elbe river in Dresden. The bridge was intended to remedy inner-city traffic congestion. Its construction was highly controversial, as the Dresden Elbe Valley had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and UNESCO expressed strong concerns against the bridge, noting its intent to withdraw the World Heritage title if the bridge were built. As a result of this project, the Dresden Elbe Valley was listed in 2006 as an "Endangered World Heritage Site", and in 2009 became only the second World Heritage Site to be de-listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City</span> Former World Heritage Site in Liverpool, England

Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City is a former UNESCO designated World Heritage Site in Liverpool, England, that comprised six locations in the city centre including the Pier Head, Albert Dock and William Brown Street, and many of the city's most famous landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabian oryx reintroduction</span>

The Arabian oryx, also called the white oryx, was extinct in the wild as of 1972, but was reintroduced to the wild starting in 1982. Initial reintroduction was primarily from two herds: the "World Herd" originally started at the Phoenix Zoo in 1963 from only nine oryx and the Saudi Arabian herd started in 1986 from private collections and some "World Herd" stock by the Saudi National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC). As of 2009 there have been reintroductions in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, and as of 2013 the IUCN Red List classifies the species as vulnerable.

Biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. The biosphere reserve title is handed over by UNESCO. Each reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. Biosphere reserves are 'Science for Sustainability support sites' – special places for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity. Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Their status is internationally recognized.

References

  1. "The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Section IV.C.193
  2. 1 2 3 "Liverpool stripped of Unesco World Heritage status". BBC News. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Halliday, Josh (21 July 2021). "Unesco strips Liverpool of its world heritage status". Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  4. "Arabian Oryx Sanctuary: UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  5. People's Daily Online. (26 June 2009). "Germany's Dresden deleted from UNESCO's World Heritage List" . Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  6. "UNESCO removes Oman oryx sanctuary from heritage list". Reuters. 30 June 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  7. "Dresden Elbe Valley: UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  8. Beyer, Susanne (7 February 2007). "A Bridge Too Far for UNESCO: World Heritage Dresden Gets Yellow Card". Der Spiegel International.
  9. Winter, Steffen (26 June 2009). "Aberkennung des Welterbe-Titels: Faustrecht und Barock" [Withdrawal of World Heritage Title: Bullying and Baroque]. Spiegel Online (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  10. 1 2 Connolly K and The Guardian offices. (25 June 2009). "Bridge takes Dresden off Unesco world heritage list". TheGuardian.com . Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  11. "Dresden is deleted from UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009. Dresden is only the second property ever to have been removed from the World Heritage List. The Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was delisted in 2007.
  12. (in German) "Umstrittene Waldschlößchenbrücke eröffnet", Spiegel Online , 24 August 2013
  13. "Welcome to Liverpool World Heritage". Liverpool City Council. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  14. Carter, Helen (24 January 2012). "Liverpool's world heritage waterfront faces 'irreversible damage', report says". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  15. Buckley, Julia (21 July 2021). "Liverpool stripped of its UNESCO World Heritage listing". CNN. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  16. Perraudin, Frances (3 October 2017). "Liverpool faces up to world heritage removal threat with taskforce". the Guardian .
  17. "Bramley-Moore Dock: Everton cleared to build new £500m stadium". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  18. "Liverpool inches closer to having World Heritage Site status yanked by UNESCO". July 2021.
  19. "Liverpool loses its UNESCO World Heritage status but does anyone care?". 26 July 2021.
  20. UNESCO World Heritage Centre (10 July 2017). "Gelati Monastery, Georgia, removed from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger". unesco. Retrieved 14 July 2017.