The United Nations is expected to add a Biblical site, Lebanese castles, an antelope migration route and the world’s deepest lake to its list of world heritage places under threat from war or climate change. UNESCO’s 196 member states will vote starting next Friday in Busan, South Korea, on new entries to the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. The agency’s World Heritage Centre director said the designations send a global message and help attract funding and partners for protection. About 1,200 sites are already on the main list, which can boost tourism and preservation support. Three unlisted locations are likely to be placed directly on the danger list. These include the archaeological site of Sebastia in the West Bank, identified as Biblical Samaria, five southern Lebanese castles in an area affected by recent fighting, and the Boma-Badingilo grasslands in South Sudan, where one million animals migrate yearly amid war and climate pressures. Already listed sites facing possible danger status include Roman remains in Tyre, Lebanon, the ancient Greek settlement of Tauric Chersonese in Crimea, and Lake Baikal in Russia, threatened by pollution, tourism, logging and reduced water levels.
