According to the Wildlife Fund (WWF), irresponsible industrial activities are putting in big danger the World Heritage Sites that are under the protection of Unesco.
Unesco assumed the duty to veil and preserve a “legacy from the past generations,” as they consider the heritage sites. Nowadays, 114 out of 229 of these heritage sites are being threatened because of fossil fuel exploration, mining, illegal logging, and other industrial activities that leave Unesco unable to protect those areas.
The governments of the countries involved aren’t taking care of the preservation of their world heritage sites as they should, making it seem like it’s more important to protect their business and industry interests, said David Nussbaum, the chief executive of WWF-UK. Without their help, Unesco isn’t able to avoid the invasion and the permanent damage of these areas that represent natural resources of the world.
Marco Lambertini, WWF International director general claims that they are just opposing to “badly planned development,” not to development itself. He adds that they are trying to make peace with industries, so they can work together to help the development of the world without harming the environment.
WWF is trying to encourage industries to avoid “short-term revenue generation” which put in risk the environment and for a responsible and sustainable economic developments.
Harming of world heritage sites could affect local communities
The disappearance or permanent damage of world heritage sites may affect more than just the environment. According to WWF, these areas provide food, water, shelter and medicine to over 11 million people.
“When conducted at a large-scale in or surrounding protected areas, industrial activities can cause substantial, even permanent, damage to those sites, and can affect their ability to provide long-term support for local communities,” Unesco states.
According to the reports, and due the severe situation, WWF is urging the United Nations to declare world heritage sites as “no-go areas for oil and gas exploration, mines, unsustainable timber production and overfishing,”
WWF considers that people must be aware of the consequence that carries the irresponsible industrial activities near heritage sites because it also affects them in several ways. If people get involved with the cause, governments may be more likely to attend the situation.
Source: Nature World News