Istanbul - The UN's cultural agency on Friday added four new sites
in Iran, India, China and Micronesia to its World Heritage list.
The sites named by Unesco include the so-called qanat water
systems in Iran, the Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape in China and
the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara in India.
The landscape in China is all that remains today of the bronze age
culture - known as "bronze drum" after its most characteristic artefacts
- once prevalent across the country's south, the agency said in a statement.
The site in Iran is an example of an ancient water-supply system -
known as qanat - suited for the most arid
areas.
The fourth site is Nan Madol - a ceremonial centre of eastern
Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia containing mediaeval palaces
and tombs.
The Micronesian site is a series of 99 artificial islets built
with walls of basalt and coral boulders.
It was, however, immediately placed on Unesco’s list of
heritage-in-danger.
The UN agency warned threats to the site were notably the
construction of navigation channels which was leading to the uncontrolled
growth of the mangrove, making the historic edifices more fragile.
The heritage-in-danger list is intended to highlight the risks
facing world heritage sites that need protection and allows the committee to
allocate immediate support from the World Heritage Fund.
Unesco added the old towns of Djenne in Mali and Shakhrisyabz in
Uzbekistan to its heritage-in-danger list on Wednesday during the 40th meeting
of its World Heritage Committee in Istanbul.
All five of Libya's World Heritage sites were named on Thursday by
the agency as at risk of damage from the civil war that continues to rage in
the country.
Meanwhile, the complex of churches and holy sites in the Georgian
town of Mtskheta was removed from the in-danger list, where it had been listed
since 2009.
