The United Nations is poised to list a Biblical site, Lebanese castles, an antelope migration path, and the world's deepest lake as world treasures under threat, including from war or climate change. The 196 member states of UNESCO will vote on new additions to its World Heritage and World Heritage in Danger lists during a meeting in Busan, South Korea. These sites face various threats, from conflict to pollution and negligence.
Priority Sites for Listing
Three sites are expected to be fast-tracked and voted straight onto the list of endangered places. These include the archaeological site of Sebastia, identified as being Biblical Samaria, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. Also prioritized are five castles in south Lebanon, an area under fire from Israel, and the Boma-Badingilo grassland and woodland savannahs in South Sudan, threatened by both war and climate change.
Additional Sites Under Threat
Beyond these priority cases, some sites already listed as heritage spots could now further be labelled as endangered. These include the remains of Roman baths and a second-century triumphal arch and hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment in recent months. Also a potential candidate is the ancient Greek settlement of Tauric Chersonese in the Crimea peninsula that Russia unilaterally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Lake Baikal and Other Sites
In Russia, the world's deepest lake -- Lake Baikal -- could also be labelled in danger as authorities struggle to contain damage from pollution, mass tourism, large-scale logging, and lower water levels due to a dam upstream in Mongolia. The vast Siberian lake contains 20 percent of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve and is home to a huge variety of flora and fauna.
