What cultural heritages are disappearing?

Global warming, bad weather, erosion caused by economic growth and other factors have made the world cultural heritage experience an unprecedented "siege". However, "excessive tourism" is the most ineffective factor to protect the world cultural heritage. Due to the sustained economic growth, air tickets are constantly lowered, and it is reasonable to reach distant destinations. Moreover, more and more people choose to have a look before they disappear. Now, the survival of any cultural heritage can not be ignored. In this rapidly changing world, the only certainty is that the world cultural heritage is fragile, whether it is stone or ice, man-made or created by nature.

The vast Antarctic continent has become the last territory of tourism. Up to now, nearly 65,438+million tourists have visited Antarctica.

On June 4th, 2004, 10, American troops patrolled the ruins of Babylon.

More than 80% of the island country Maldives is located at an altitude of 1 m, which is in danger of being submerged.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Today, every year, 10000 tourists come from afar and flock to the foot of this mountain at an altitude of 5896 meters. However, as the snow cover gets smaller and smaller, "Kilimanjaro Snow" will become history in 15 years.

In the era when Hemingway wrote The Snow of Kilimanjaro, traveling was probably the "last thing" that people could think of at that time. Hemingway today can't imagine that every year, 10000 tourists come from afar and flock to the foot of this mountain at an altitude of 5896 meters. Countless travel agency operators are repeating the famous sentence in "For whom the bell tolls": "It is so vast, great and towering, and it is incredibly white in the sun."

However, beyond the poetic "selling", Kilimanjaro's snow-the coordinate of this tourism industry-is about to melt. It has existed for thousands of years, and the "snow hat" described by human beings as "King Solomon's graveyard" is more and more correct.

Kilimanjaro is close to the south of the equator, and its attraction is largely due to the strong contrast between the equator and the snow-capped mountains. However, not long ago, when a group of scientists gathered in San Francisco, USA, they exhaled an amazing sentence: the snow on Mount Kilimanjaro is melting and may disappear completely in 15 years. Since February last year, the thickness of snow in some places on the mountain has decreased by nearly one meter. Historically, the time unit for the growth or melting of snow-capped mountains and icebergs in nature is usually ten thousand years. Not now. Compared with 19 12, Kilimanjaro's "snow cap" has shrunk by 82%. Sadly, by then, the travel agency will have a new buying point-one last look at Kilimanjaro's snow!

The curse of tourism

Economic prosperity has brought a steady stream of "people", and more and more people are "on the road", and cheap air tickets have accelerated this process. The biggest threat to the world cultural heritage is tourism itself.

This seems ridiculous. The biggest threat to the world cultural heritage is tourism itself. The challenge is that human love and worship for them will drive them to death. Burnham, chairman of the World Heritage Foundation (WMF), said: "Tourism is very important to the future of world cultural heritage, but due to the lack of predictable management, we can easily get out of control."

No matter how novel the destination is, tourists are most concerned about how to get there. Due to the sustained economic growth, air tickets are constantly lowered, and it is reasonable to reach distant destinations. Last year, the number of global tourists exceeded 806 million, and many of them gathered in the most famous and oldest places in the world, whether it was the ancient Machu Picchu Temple in Peru, Stonehenge in Britain or Venice Water City.

Economic prosperity has brought a steady stream of "people", and more and more people are "on the road", and cheap air tickets have accelerated this process.

The release of tourism economy has brought more powerful energy than hurricanes. In Cancun, a tourist resort in Mexico, 7 million tourists come here every year. Under the impact of the crowd, it is urgent to protect the tourism resources of Mexico's Caribbean coast. A large number of tourists have also brought water supply crisis, endangering the ecological environment of shallow sea. According to ConservationInternational's estimation, "excessive tourism" threatens the survival of more than half of "non-renewable tourism resources" in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the proportion in the Asia-Pacific region has reached 20%. Angkor Wat in Cambodia welcomes 6.5438+million tourists every year, and the Taj Mahal is 7 million.

Other destructive factors

Due to the turbulent situation in some areas, the erosion of industrial waste and the influence of abnormal climate, those unrepeatable world cultural heritages are in danger of extinction. Kilimanjaro's snow is a symbol of worrying tourism. At present, the survival of any world cultural heritage can not be ignored.

Due to the turbulent situation in some areas, the erosion of industrial waste and the influence of abnormal climate, those unrepeatable world cultural heritages are in danger of extinction. The hurricane almost flooded the whole city of New Orleans, USA. Indonesia's coral delta, regarded as a diving paradise, is also at a critical juncture; Due to constant theft, the Luxor Temple in Egypt is doomed. Even prehistoric stone pillars in Britain are protected by fences. The only certainty is that the world cultural heritage is fragile, whether it is stone or ice, man-made or created by nature.

In fact, human's "wanderlust" is not the only factor, and there are many factors that endanger cultural heritage. Before leaving for the destination, tourists should not only check the exchange rates of coins in various countries and care about the weather, but also browse the website of the Tsunami Warning Center, Jane's terrorist attack report (it is said that the latest situation of global terrorist attacks can be provided to people every day) until the epidemic index forecast.

Tourism itself, as the largest foreign exchange earning industry in many countries, faces many dangers. The World Trade and Tourism Council (WTTC) will hold its annual meeting in Washington next month to discuss how to deal with natural and man-made disasters. "No matter natural or man-made disasters, disasters are real," said Vince Wolfgang, chairman of WTTC. "We have to face these thorny problems more and more."

This is an arduous task. The World Heritage Foundation has published the list of the world's 100 most endangered cultural heritages, which are distributed in 55 countries. The first place is Iraq, not just Al Askariyashrine in askari, but the whole country. Terrorist attacks and sectarian conflicts have become the main culprits. The threat of global warming is more serious. According to a recent report of the United Nations, compared with 1970, disasters caused by "extreme weather", "floods" and "hurricanes" have tripled, and catastrophic losses caused by economic development have increased sixfold.

The shadow of global warming

Antarctica has become a tourist destination for more and more people. However, in recent years, with the global warming, icebergs on the Antarctic continent have disintegrated and melted on a large scale.

The above dangers are destroying the earth. Many tourists are considering going to the Antarctic for their holidays. Take a luxury cruise from ushuaia to the Antarctic continent and enjoy an ice and snow holiday without sunset. This kind of journey is really exciting.

"In the boat, watch the huge humpback whales swim by and experience the spiritual interaction between man and nature." What a beautiful business plan! Since 1957, the first American business trip, nearly 654.38 million tourists from all over the world have visited the South Pole. 199 1 In August, seven global tourism organizations, including the United States, New Zealand and Australia, established the International Antarctic Tourism Association (IAATO) and obtained the business license. Now, for $50,000, tourists can be taken to the white continent. Of course, this cost is not surprising compared with the possibility of losing opportunities 30 years later. In recent years, with the global warming, the icebergs on the Antarctic continent have disintegrated and melted on a large scale. Mayflies in cold water quickly disappear, krill decreases, and penguins and whales naturally suffer.

Economic growth provides "help"

Overpumping groundwater makes Mexico City face the disaster of accelerating subsidence; The chaotic traffic has discharged more and more automobile exhaust into the sky, eroding the ancient buildings in Naples. These are all negative effects of economic growth.

Economic growth is bound to play the role of destroyer, and there are profound hidden worries behind prosperity. The lighthouse of Helsinki Malmi International Airport is a modern architectural treasure built in 1930s, but with the development of the city, it may be razed to the ground and replaced by a large residential area.

If saving a building sounds incredible, imagine saving the whole city. If Mexico City, with a population of 6.5438+0.8 million, continues to pump dry water and destroy aquifers, the world's largest city will fall into the ground. The World Heritage Foundation has listed Mexico City as an "endangered city". Because it is located in the political and economic center of Mexico, Mexico City attracts a large number of immigrants from all over the country every year. In the past 50 years, the population of Mexico City has more than quadrupled. In order to solve the increasingly serious water supply crisis, the city draws 10000 liters of water from the aquifer every second. This undoubtedly aggravated the rapid depletion of groundwater that once supported the city. Experts pointed out that this huge city is facing the disaster of accelerating sinking. In the past 100 years, it has sunk by 9. 14 meters, and the sinking speed in some areas has reached 38 cm per year.

Let's look at Naples, Italy. Its urban area is built on the flat beach of Naples Bay and the low hillside leading to Vesuvius. Seismologists say that Vesuvius will erupt again sooner or later, and the fiery magma will approach Naples, and the city and its population of 6.5438+0 million are nestled in the shadow of the volcano. /kloc-The 0/7th century was the glorious period of Naples, which was once the largest city in Europe. The Italian proverb "If you go to Naples, you will die in the evening" is a proud declaration of the Bourbon dynasty in its heyday. Now Naples is in decline, more like a postcard of a decadent city. The chaotic traffic discharged more and more automobile exhaust into the air, and the ancient buildings in the Middle Ages were eroded. Now, skeptics have a new saying: "Go and see Naples before it falls."

Nowadays, as we all know, Venice, the Italian water city, has almost dried up and ships have run aground.

Side effects of "endangered list"

Just after the Asian tsunami, people came back like a flood. Sometimes, disasters can be turned into "opportunities" and cause a rebound in tourism.

The good news and bad news is that tourists are pouring in. Just after the Asian tsunami, people came back like a flood. Sometimes disasters can turn into opportunities. "Before the change comes, people have to explore there," said Matt carus of NaturalHabitat, who is in charge of the Antarctic tourism project. "We all realize that the world is unpredictable," said Giorio Albury, a professor at the School of Tourism at drexel University in Philadelphia. "But after the disaster, tourism behavior will always rebound."

How to deal with the shock is a controversial topic. Burnham, president of the World Heritage Foundation, said: "Sometimes people don't realize the value of things until they are on the verge of extinction." He said that compiling the list of the most endangered cultural heritage can win the support of local governments, but it will also trigger a growing tourism frenzy, and people are scrambling to see the endangered monuments. Many places have taken various measures, such as limiting the tour time and so on. The United Nations World Heritage Organization has begun to protect cultural heritage, and the World Heritage Foundation has also started some reconstruction work in cooperation with regional governments.

The "endangered list" did not scare away tourists. They may slow down, but the number will not decrease. Despite a series of man-made and natural disasters, the number of people traveling away from home reached a record high last year and will undoubtedly continue to grow. In the protection of world cultural heritage, excessive tourism is the biggest destructive factor, and how to balance tourism and protection is a problem that generations have to think about. Otherwise, people in the future can only get a glimpse of cultural heritage from books.

Venice, a water city, is in danger of drying up.

Luxor Temple is threatened by tourism and thieves.

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Seven Endangered Monuments in the World

Luxortemplecomplex in Egypt

Luxor Temple Group is located on the west bank of the Nile, where there are more than 40 temples and thousands of noble cemeteries. Its history can be traced back to BC14th century. Today, the status quo of Luxor Temple is in jeopardy, threatened not only by tourism and thieves, but also by the Nile itself. The Aswan Dam, built 40 years ago, caused salt to deposit around the soil of Luxor Temple, eroding the foundation of the temple, and many ancient tombs were filled with seawater. The World Heritage Foundation is currently working out a management plan to protect the ruins of Luxor Temple, and hopes to carry out the largest renovation of the complex since Alexander the Great.

Babylon Iraq

Babylon is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Babylon, located in Mesopotamia, and the largest building complex built by King Nebuchadnezzar, where the "Hanging Garden" is located. Since the 20th century, since archaeologists discovered the ruins of the ancient Babylonian city, the antiquities in the ancient city have been plundered, destroyed and polluted. After the Iraq war, the US military still dug trenches there, and military tanks crushed the ancient road. The British Museum recently warned in a report that Iraq currently lacks the resources to restore the original appearance of the ancient city of Babylon.

Coral Triangle in Indonesia

The Indonesian Coral Reef Triangle is one of the most diverse marine habitats in the world, extending from the eastern waters of Indonesia to Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Malaysia and Solomon Islands. So far, scientists have found more than 3,000 kinds of fish and more than 600 kinds of corals there. However, the ecosystem there is facing increasing threats from overfishing and destructive fishing, which not only greatly reduces the number of marine animals, but also constantly endangers their habitats. Many pleasing fish, such as grouper and Napoleon arowana, are now endangered.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu was built around 1460 and was discovered by American historian hiram bingham in 19 1 year. Since then, it has become the most popular tourist attraction in Peru, attracting 500,000 tourists every year. The ancient city of Machu Picchu has 200 buildings of all kinds, but because it is located in the geological fault zone, the ancient stone foundation of the ancient city is increasingly worn and destroyed by the influx of tourists. The commercial development around the site makes Machu Picchu face the threat of landslides, and this ancient city may disappear from the earth at any time. In order to curb this trend, the Peruvian government recently limited the number of tourists to Machu Picchu to 500 per day, while the ancient city was closed for one month every year to repair damaged buildings. However, remedial measures are too late.

Maldives (Maldives)

Maldives, an Asian island country, consists of 6,543.8+200,000 small islands, and has the richest marine animals in the world. However, because more than 80% of the country's land is located at an altitude of 1 m, it is more threatened by sea level rise caused by global warming. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 not only destroyed the infrastructure of Maldives, but also made some small atolls disappear, so the map of the country was redrawn.