Disappearing World: 101 of the Earth's Most Extraordinary and Endangered Places

Disappearing World
101 of the Earth's Most Extraordinary and Endangered Places

Chapter One

Conflict

The world is, sadly, never without conflict in one continent or another - and some areas have endured generations of war and unrest. UNESCO World Heritage Sites in these zones are affected by the subsequent instability in the area, whether through civil war, religious conflict, internal coups, or marauding gangs of poachers, and the subsequent difficulties in their management and conservation stemming from the conflict in the region.

Conflict is no respecter of location, whether it is a rain forest, tropical forest, wetland, national park, site of architectural or archaeological importance, or holy city. Once warfare starts, the evidence of centuries of culture, religious belief, archaeology, or thriving ecosystems can be destroyed in hours, never to be recovered or replaced.

War has, unfortunately, been with us for a long time. The first written mention of war dates back to 2700 BC, although there were undoubtedly earlier conflicts. During the UNESCO Campaign to safeguard the temples at Abu Simbel, archaeological evidence pointing to a battle 13,000 years ago was unearthed.

In this chapter, we see how places as unique and diverse as Samarra in Iraq, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kosovo's Medieval Monuments in Serbia, and the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls are all vulnerable, and attempts to save them are ongoing.

Rebel forces and guerrillas exploit natural resources—they need funds for their cause and so, for example, they slaughter elephants for their ivory,which they sell on the black market. Thousands of elephants have been culled in this way. The rebels need transport and roads, and so trees are felled and vegetation ripped up, which leads to deforestation and destruction of natural habitats. Nesting birds are driven from the trees and species put at risk. Without the cover of the forests and trees, the animals are driven out into the open, where they are killed for food, or trade. Reptiles, amphibians and fish are hunted, while rivers and waterways are polluted and illegally mined.

Local people, the innocent victims, are forced by the conflict to leave their homes and become refugees, but through their need to survive, they also become unwitting destroyers, contributing to the escalating damage brought about by the unrest. They are often driven into protected areas, where their need for fuel can lead to illegal tree felling, while the subsequent fires sometimes result in further destruction. The need for food leads them to graze their cattle on fragile ecosystems, poach protected species, or indulge in large-scale fishing, with subsequent diminution of fish stocks.

Religious conflict, intolerance and pogroms can have a devastating effect on historic monuments and statues, with the loss of churches, mosques, minarets and monasteries. Icons, frescoes, wall paintings, furniture and other irreplaceable items that have existed for centuries can be destroyed in minutes, as can any centuries-old statue deemed idolatrous by new regimes.

Whatever the conflict, the presence of opposing forces, rebels, or large-scale gangs of poachers frequently means there is no adequate protection of listed sites, habitats and species, be they animal, vegetable or mineral. Rangers, wardens, management and peacekeepers are driven away, leading to looting and destruction. In forests and parks the lack of supervision often leads to illegal traffic in wildlife and subsequent dwindling numbers of protected species, while at historic sites or in religious buildings, historic items are looted, paintings stolen, and mosaics ripped up.

In 2000, UNESCO and the United Nations Foundation set up a pilot project of conservation of natural heritage in wartime. The first project was to conserve World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and was launched for four years. The goal was to ensure the conservation of World Heritage Sites in the DRC, both during periods of civil unrest and in the long term, by mobilizing financial, logistical, technical and diplomatic support at regional and international levels, to strengthen the conservation of the sites. This project functioned as a learning process to inform efforts and develop mechanisms to conserve similar sites in conflict regions around the world. Here, as elsewhere, local government plus international support and community education is vital.

Disappearing World
101 of the Earth's Most Extraordinary and Endangered Places. Copyright © by Alonzo Addison. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.