The world’s largest natural formation of its kind, the Great Blue Hole – a large underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize – is part of the larger Barrier Reef Reserve System, a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Photo source: ©© Eric Pheterson
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WWF concludes that at least 114 of 229 world heritage sites of outstanding importance for species and habitats are at risk from mining, fossil fuel extraction concessions, and other industrial activities.
WWF highlighted the case of the Belize Barrier Reef, where the construction of buildings along the coast, accompanying clearance of the mangrove swamps – which provide a shelter against storm damage and erosion – are affecting the lives of 190,000 people, or about half the state’s population…
Read Full Article, Guardian UK
Industrial Activity Threatens Half of Natural World Heritage Sites, Says WWF; Time
Natural wonders — like Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands or China’s giant-panda sanctuaries — are awarded World Heritage status by the U.N.’s cultural agency, UNESCO, for an “outstanding universal value” worthy of special protection. But now 114 of the 229 sites have oil, gas or mining concessions, or are at risk from other industrial developments. Of the group, 46 face multiple threats, according to the WWF…
