3 more sites removed from world heritage danger list

Three more sites -- Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the Group of Monuments at Hampi in India and Ichkeul National Park in Tunisia -- were removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger, the World Heritage Committee said on Tuesday.

The 30th session of the committee made its decision after hearing about improved conservation at these important world sites.

Cologne Cathedral was taken off the list following a move by city authorities to scale down plans for the construction of a number of high buildings, the release said. Improved management of the cathedral's surroundings had also been a factor, it said.

The building of the masterpiece of German Gothic architecture, started in 1248 and was completed in 1880. It was put on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2004.

Meanwhile, in India, reductions in motor traffic and a decision to change the location of a planned shopping center enabled the committee to determine that the Group of Monuments at Hampi, included in the World Heritage List in 1986 and placed on the danger list in 1999, was no longer threatened.

The 25 square-km site includes rich temples and palaces built between the 14th and 16th centuries when it was the capital of the last great Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar.

Tunisia's Ichkeul National Park, which was put on the danger list in 1996 because of increased salinity of its water, was removed following action by the Tunisian authorities. A ban on the use of the lake's water for agriculture led to a reduction in salinity. In turn, this brought about the return of numerous bird species to the park, which was placed on the World Heritage List in 1980.

The increase in salinity had led to the disappearance of its characteristics as the last fresh water lake in a chain that once extended across North Africa. It had been a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds such as ducks, geese, storks and pink flamingos.

In addition to these three sites, the committee on Monday removed Senegal's Djoudj Bird Sanctuary from the danger list as various bio-control measures have enabled the site's managers to eradicate the threat of an invasive plant species to the wetland site, which is situated in the Senegal river delta.

The Committee also heard a report which showed improvements in the overall management of the site placed on the World Heritage List in 1981.

Source: Xinhua