<p>World Heritage Sites are threatened by climate change</p>

New York - Whether it’s the sinking Venice or the fading Australian Great Barrier Reef, the changing climate has a drastic impact on some of the world’s most precious heritage sites, warns American television CNN on its website.

To date, over 1,000 items have been inscribed on the list of sites of extraordinary significance to humanity. But as the world warms, primarily due to human activities, some of these locations may lose their extraordinary significance or even completely disappear. Perhaps the saddest example of this is the imposing glacial fjord in Greenland's Ilulissat, where the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier is literally melting before our eyes due to global warming. Greenlandic authorities even attract people to the fjord who want to witness global warming firsthand, and refer to it as a place to see "before it's too late."

"Practically every site inscribed on the World Heritage List is in some way threatened by climate change," warns Adam Markham from the American non-governmental organization Union of Concerned Scientists.

In some places, the immediate danger is quite clear. For example, the American Yellowstone National Park is experiencing warmer winters with less snowfall, its rivers are warming, lakes and wetlands are shrinking, and periods of fire risk are lengthening. This is highlighted in a joint report by the UN Environment Programme, UNESCO, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Scientists estimate that nearly half of the wetlands in the area centered around Yellowstone National Park could disappear in the coming years, and that instead of dense forests, we will encounter only much sparser woodland.

Due to the meteorological phenomenon El Niño, ocean waters around the Galapagos are warming, threatening the food sources that allow many local species to survive. Rising sea levels and higher waves pose risks to the enormous statues on Easter Island—they are at risk of being toppled.

Every fourth item on the UNESCO World Heritage List is strongly threatened by climate change, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is deemed the "fastest growing threat," the organization reports. Rising sea temperatures in recent years have had a negative impact on coral reefs, such as Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean, Belize Barrier Reef, or the Australian Great Barrier Reef. The rise in sea temperatures in 2016 and 2017 destroyed about half of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef as well as many others around the world.

And if climate change does not slow down, the IUCN predicts a dark future for other sites as well. Mechtild Rössler from UNESCO states that this organization continuously monitors the impact of climate change on the world’s heritage. "If we cannot protect these sites from these threats—and there are numerous risks—what will the future look like?" she asks. "The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage states that sites of extraordinary significance ... need to be passed on to future generations. If we have nothing to pass on, it will be a dramatic situation,” she says.

According to Markham, one solution could be the creation of a climate vulnerability index. This would enable the countries responsible for world-significant sites to better understand and monitor climate change and respond to it more effectively. Rössler emphasizes the necessity of creating strategies to adapt to extreme weather events. According to her, it's often advisable to draw on the knowledge and experience of local people. For instance, in the natural-cultural area of Sierra de Tramuntana on the Spanish island of Mallorca, which is facing water shortages, people have successfully restored traditional irrigation systems.

However, Adam Markham from the Union of Concerned Scientists admits that it is not possible to protect all sites, especially those in less developed parts of the world. He is convinced that the people who care for the pearls of world heritage are considering how to deal with climate change. He doubts, on the other hand, that the governments of individual countries are doing enough to slow changes down. Markham points out that whenever climate change is discussed, the fulfillment of the goals set by the Paris Agreement comes up. In 2015, global politicians committed to keeping the rise in temperature "well below two degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees" compared to pre-industrial levels. "Unfortunately, we are currently nowhere near that," Markham reminds. "If the Paris Agreement is not fulfilled, we will lose many items from the World Heritage List,” he warns.