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1、World Heritage Watch Report 2022World Heritage WatchWorld Heritage WatchWorld Heritage Watch Report 2022Berlin 20222 Bibliographical InformationWorld Heritage Watch:World Heritage Watch Report 2022.Berlin 2022248 pages with 341 photos,30 graphics and 96 mapsPublished by World Heritage Watch e.V.Berl
2、in 2022ISBN 978-3-00-073805-0NE:World Heritage Watch1.World Heritage 2.Civil Society 3.UNESCO 4.Heritage at Risk 5.Natural Heritage 6.Cultural Heritage 7.Historic Cities 8.Sites 9.Monuments 10.Cultural Landscapes 11.Indigenous Peoples 12.ParticipationWorld Heritage Watch World Heritage Watch e.V.202
3、2This work with all its parts is protected by copyright.Any use beyond the strict limits of the applicable copyright law without the consent of the publisher is inadmissible and punishable.This refers especially to reproduction of figures and/or text in print or xerography,translations,microforms an
4、d the data storage and processing in electronic systems.The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinions whatsoever on the part of the publishers concerning the legal status of any country or territory or of its authoritie
5、s,or concerning the frontiers of any country or territory.The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opin-ions expressed therein,which are not necessarily those of the editors,and do not commit them.No part of this publication may
6、be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publishers except for the quotation of brief passages for the purposes of review.Editorial Team:Stephan Doempke(chief editor),Nicole Bolomey,Reza Mohammad Ebrahimi Saba,Marina Ferraz Oliveira,Jos Pedro de Oliveira Costa,Shweta Wagh.Map ed
7、itors:Martin Lenk,Stephan Doempke Cover photos:Upper left:Packaging and storage materials are delivered to the St.Sophia Cathedral,Kyiv.Photo:Iryna Nikiforova.Upper right:Tea plantations near Ooty in Indias Nilgiris District.Photo:https:/ left:Fighting wildfires in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National
8、 Park,Brazil.Photo:Fernando TatagibaLower right:Maasai meeting in response to the threat of being evicted from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.Photo:Arpakwa Ole SikoreiBack cover map:Martin LenkCover Design:Bianka Gericke www.layoutmanufaktur.deDesign and layout:Bianka Gericke www.layoutmanufaktur.
9、dePrinted by:Buch-und Offsetdruckerei H.Heenemann GmbH&Co.KG,Berlin3Contents Preface .7Maritta von Bieberstein Koch-Weser and Stephan DoempkeSpecial Report:World Heritage Sites Damaged by War in Ukraine .9Stephan Doempke,World Heritage WatchI.Natural Properties 13Development Threat to Punta Carola,I
10、sla San Cristbal,Galapagos .14Sean Keegan,SOS GalapagosPressure to Downsize Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park Again.17Rede Nacional Pr-Unidades de ConservaoUncontrolled Fires Threaten the Wetlands of the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park .20Letcia Larcher,Anglica Guerra,Betina Kellermann and An
11、gelo Paccelli Cipriano Rabelo,Instituto Homem Pantaneiro Potential Reopening of the Estrada do Colono Threatens Iguau National Park .24Rede Nacional Pr-Unidades de ConservaoVictoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya Cultural Heritage Threatened by New Tourism Developments .27Anonymous AuthorUNESCO and the Europea
12、n Union Come to the Rescue of Doana .31Juanjo Carmona and Teresa Gil,WWF SpainWill a Waste Incinerator Threaten the Jurassic Coast?.34Anne MorrissPlans for More Oil and Gas Extraction Put the Wadden Sea at Risk .38Deutsche UmwelthilfeWind Farm Threatens to Affect the Kellerwald National Park in Nort
13、hern Hesse,Germany .42Norbert PanekBiaowieza Forest World Heritage Site Broken in Half.44Tomasz Pezold Kneevi,WWF PolandEuropes Last Ancient Beech Forests,Primary and Old-growth Forests In Decline Due to Logging.46EuroNatur Foundation/Agent GreenOverview of the Problems at the Western Caucasus World
14、 Heritage Site.49Anonymous authorsDamage From Water Level Manipulation Severely Affects Lake Baikal.56Eugene Simonov,Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition4 Mining and Dams Threaten the Hydrological Regime of the Landscapes of Dauria.60Eugene Simonov,Rivers without Boundaries Internationa
15、l Coalition Sukhgerel Dugersuren,Rivers without Boundaries Mongolia Vadim Kirilyuk,Oleg Goroshko,Daursky Biosphere Reserve“Volcanoes of Kamchatka”Might be Inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.64Anonymous authorsBangladesh Must Halt High Carbon,Highly Polluting Industries Near Sundarbans
16、.66Sultana Kamal,National Committee for Saving the SundarbansThe Northern Part of Okinawa Island under Impact of the U.S.Militarys Northern Training Area .69Masami Mel Kawamura,Informed Public Project.Hideki Yoshikawa,Okinawa Environmental Justice ProjectThe Great Barrier Reef:a World Heritage Site
17、in Danger.73Imogen Zethoven,Australian Marine Conservation Society and WWF-AustraliaII.World Heritage Properties and Indigenous Peoples 77Gaps and Uncertainties Continue in the Wood Buffalo National Parks Protection Regime .78Mikisew Cree First NationCalakmul:An Ancient Mayan City and Tropical Fores
18、t at Risk.82Viridiana Maldonado Galindo,Ursula Garzn Aragn and Carlos Asnsolo Morales,Mxico Environmental Law CenterUpdate on the Situation of Gold Mining in Canaima National Park,Venezuela .87SOS OrinocoA Road Through the Serra do Divisor NP Could Threaten its Inscription in the World Heritage List
19、 .91Rede Nacional Pr-Unidades de ConservaoThe Maasai Residing in the Ngorongoro Conserv ation Area are Evicted from their Homeland.94Edward Porokwa,Pastoralist Indigenous Non-Governmental Organizations ForumUNESCO Must Step in Quickly to Protect World Heritage Sites from Oil and Gas Pollution in Afr
20、icas Eden.98Andy Gheorghiu,Saving Okavangos Unique Life(SOUL)Alliance Hoh Xil Nature Reserve in Need of a Rigorous Review After its Controversial Inscription in 2017 .102International Campaign for TibetProposed Dams Threaten Lepcha Rights and Values associated with Khangchendzonga National Park .106
21、Gyatso Lepcha,Affected Citizens of TeestaMega-Project with Mega-Impact:Unchecked Development Threaten Komodo National Park.111WALHI and Sunspirit for Justice and PeaceThe People of East Rennell Are Suffering.116George Tauika Vaipoki,East Rennell World Heritage AssociationBroken Promises in the Tasma
22、nian Wilderness .119Jimmy Cordwell,The Wilderness Society5III.Cultural Landscapes and Mixed Properties 123Xochimilco:a World Heritage Endangered by the Mexican State .124Tamara Blazquez Haik and Lourdes Granados Abad,Xochimilco VivoThe English Lake District,a Cultural Landscape Under Threat From Mot
23、orists and Park Managers .128The Lake District Green Lanes Alliance The Upper Middle Rhine Valley is Threatened in Many Ways .131Klaus Thomas and Elke Greiff-Gossen,Rheinpassagen Citizens InitiativeThe Curonian Spit:Bad Governance,Climate Change,War,Cessation of International Cooperation What is the
24、 Future?.135Aleksandra Koroleva(Ecodefense),Larisa Stanchenko and Olga GolovinaIgnoring UNESCO and ICOMOS,Hungary Continues to Jeopardize the Transboundary Fert Lake/Lake Neusiedl .139Zoltn Kun,Friends of the Fert Lake/Lake Neusiedl Association Management of the Lake Ohrid Region:One Step Forward,Tw
25、o Steps Back .143Emilija Apostolova Chalovska,Daniel Scarry and Sonja Dimoska,Ohrid SOSCurrent Condition of Bamiyan Cultural Heritage .147Abdurrahim Ahmadi,Urban Planner/ArchitectThe Nilgiris District,Tamil Nadu,Should be Included in Indias Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.150Vithal Rajan,OC,P
26、hD LSE,BA Hons McGillUndermining Subak Protection at the UNESCO World Heritage Site and Elsewhere in Bali.154Wiwik Dharmiasih,Ni Luh Emi Dwiyanti,I Gede Yudha Bhismaya and Yefta SurtisnoIV.Historic Cities and Urban Ensembles 157Cerro Rico de Potos:A Sacred Mountain In Danger of Imminent Collapse .15
27、8Voluntariado“Vale Un Potos”The Tug-of-War for St.Petersburgs Okhta Cape Continues.163Elena Minchenok and Mikhail RyzhovThe Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf Between Environmental Protection and Monument Preservation .167Hans-Jrgen Kraft,Parrot Settlement Association1100 Years of Goslar:A World Heritage Site
28、in Decay .170Henning FraseHigh-ranking Vienna City Official Insults ICOMOS and UNESCO .176Herbert Rasinger,Initiative Stadtbildschutz Wien The Present Situation of Venice and its Lagoon is Unsustainable.178Jane da Mosto,We are here VeniceHistoric Bastions Views of Valletta Negated by Commercial Deve
29、lopment .181Jorg Sicot,Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar.6 Albania Continues Construction of the Gjirokastra“Bypass Road”,Ignoring UNESCO .186Kreshnik MerxhaniNew Construction in Istanbuls Sleymaniye World Heritage Site .189Namk Kemal Dleneken,Foundation for the Protection and Promotion of the Environment
30、 and Cultural Heritage(EKL)A New Development Plan Puts Safranbolu at Risk.193İbrahim Canbulat,M.Arch.The Character of Diyarbakrs Surii Quarter is Changed from Residential to Commercial.197Deniz Ay,Dilan Kaya Tadelen,Kaner Atakan Trker,and Nevin SoyukayaThe Impact of the“Network Roads Project”on Cair
31、os Medieval Necropolises .202Galila El-KadiLamu Old Town Faces Mounting Pressures Under Climate Change and Large-Scale Infrastructure Development .209Mohamed Athman,Save Lamu Bryan P.Galligan,S.J.,Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa(JENA)V.Monuments and Sites 213Stonehenge,Avebury and Associat
32、ed Sites Now Under Threat of Delisting.214Kate Fielden,Stonehenge AllianceBlenheim Palace World Heritage Site under Threat .217Andrew Rein,Campaign to Protect Old WoodstockOut of Perspective:World Heritage Castles Augustusburg and Falkenlust in Danger .222Rheinischer Verein fr Denkmalpflege e.V.and
33、DENKmal-bruehl.de Disfiguration Planned of the Western Access to the Acropolis of Athens.227Tasos Tanoulas,Acropolis SOS Recent Developments and Threats to the Gelati Monastery,Georgia.232Mzia Janjalia,Art historianAnnex 235The Authors.2367PrefaceIn 2022,for a third consecutive year,the World Herita
34、ge Committee has not met for a regular,physical session.While the 2020 and 2021 sessions were prevented by the global Covid-19 pandemic,in 2022 the reason was a political crisis:When the Russian Federation started its brutal,unprovoked attack on Ukraine with the stated objective to extinguish that c
35、ountrys independence and indeed nationhood,the idea that a country which openly negates the very principle upon which UNESCO was founded namely to build the defences of peace in the minds of men should preside over a UNESCO meeting was unacceptable to a very large majority of States Parties to the W
36、orld Heritage Convention.It became clear very soon,however,that for removing the Russian president of the Committee elected ad personam from his office there was no majority either in the World Heritage Committee or in its Bureau,and the General Assembly of State Parties into whose hands the matter
37、should have been put had no power to intervene according to its Rules of Procedure.As a result,the Committee has remained paralyzed,and its 45th Session has been postponed indefinitely but not cancelled,with a prospect that this state of affairs could continue until Russias term in the Committee is
38、scheduled to expire in November 2023.As of today,it remains unclear whether there will be a World Heritage Committee session in 2023.The paralysis of the Committee has also interfered with UNESCOs planning of an official event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention.Signif
39、icant celebrations took place on the 20th,30th and 40th anniversaries,and the absence of such an event organized by UNESCO on the 50th Anniver-sary sheds an ominous light on the condition of the Convention.For many years,civil society and academic scholars alike have deplored the politicization of t
40、he Committee the fact that certain countries have used their membership to promote decisions not taken exclusively in consideration of merit and facts but increasingly based on political considerations.As a result,for years the problems haunting World Heritage sites have not been adequately acknowle
41、dged nor addressed,allowing developments to continue and facts being created which damage or outright de-stroy the sites which the State Parties have solemnly promised to protect for all of humankind.The picture appears equally bleak as we look at other international conventions covering matters rel
42、ated to World Heritage,such as climate change,biodiversity,human rights and indeed,the entire body of inter-national law ruling the conduct of nations at war.These international agreements seem to be plagued by some of the same phenomena of politicization,lack of compliance and outright defiance tha
43、t we observe in the World Heritage Convention,casting into doubt whether all our efforts to create rule-based international relations will ever bear fruit.Where does this leave civil society?At a moment when an increasing number of States Parties appear to be unable or unwilling to adhere to the rul
44、es of the Convention,rendering its bodies partly dysfunctional,the role and importance of civil society has never been greater.Actually,civil society has become the key stew-ard and guardian of some World Heritage sites,and the good conscience of the Convention.For the sake of the World Heritage we
45、care so much about,we its civil society supporters have to accept and assume these roles and live up to bigger tasks.8 But how can we assume greater roles and take on bigger tasks when we have no power in the Convention,most of us work under precarious conditions,with little or no support from outsi
46、de?Should we continue to allocate our limited resources to being involved in a Convention whose power seems to decrease,or would it be better to focus on the time-tested ways and means of civil society petitions,demonstrations,political lobbying,and direct action?There is no easy answer,and the larg
47、er context needs to be taken into account.Undeniably,the World Her-itage Convention has been a huge success.Many of the sites inscribed in the World Heritage List would probably have been lost a long time ago had not UNESCOs good name and the power of the international community stepped in to save t
48、hem.This potential must not be discarded lightly.There are also systemic considerations.The convention is not only about inscribing sites on the World Her-itage List and monitoring them.Its bodies have over time continued to raise new issues,and set technical standards in many fields.Suffice it to m
49、ention that the Convention has introduced the category of cultural landscapes to the conservation agenda,it has been the first to address climate change and sustainable de-velopment,and to create standards for the conservation and development of historic urban landscapes.In-digenous peoples have bee
50、n able to make use of the Convention in order to have their lands,sacred sites and cultural heritage better protected.If civil society would turn away from the Convention,we would lose the option of making a difference through its standard-setting processes.With the Potsdam Papers on the Future of t
51、he World Heritage,we have made a major contribution to im-proving and refining the documents ruling the work of the Convention,hopefully resulting in a reform which will make it survive its next 50 years,and a much stronger role of civil society.The response by the statutory bodies the States Partie
52、s,the Committee and its secretariat and advisory bodies to the sug-gestions made by us will amount to a first litmus test whether there will be a role for civil society in the Convention.Berlin,October 2022Maritta von Bieberstein Koch-Weser,President Stephan Doempke,ChairSpecial Report 9Special Repo
53、rt:World Heritage Sites Damaged by War in UkraineStephan Doempke,World Heritage WatchAmong the many atrocities perpetrated by the Russian armed forces since February 2022 in Ukraine has been the widespread destruction of cultural heritage.Russian President Putin himself has denied Ukraine its cultur
54、al and national identity,claiming that Ukraine is a part of Russia.This false narrative has not only served him to justify his attack and his claims to the territory of Ukraine,but also explains why the invading forces seem to select cultural heritage objects as targets in order to extinguish all ev
55、idence of Ukrainian culture.In addition,thousands of arti-facts have been looted from Ukrainian museums,most notably an irreplaceable Scythian gold treasure of the 4th century BC from the Museum of Local History in Melitopol.We may expect that some of these objects will be presented as part of Russi
56、an cultural heritage in Moscow museums.As of 25 July,UNESCO has verified damage to 168 cultural sites since 24 February 73 religious sites,13 museums,33 historic buildings,24 buildings dedicated to cultural activities,17 monu-ments,and 8 libraries.However,no reliable information is avail-able from t
57、he zones of combat and under Russian occupation,and the total number of damaged or destroyed cultural sites may be much higher.Ukrainian World Heritage and Tentative List SitesInformation presented here has been obtained from various sources in the internet as well as from Iryna Nikiforova of the In
58、itiative of the St.Andrews Paysage.To date,no UNESCO World Heritage site appears to have been damaged.However,four sites on Ukraines Tentative List have been affected by the military invasion,and another one earlier on Crimea by harmful interventions.Fig.1:Sites on Ukraines Tentative List damaged by
59、 the Russian military and civil authorities.Map:Worldometer/Stephan Doempke10 Special ReportHistoric Centre of Tchernigov(Ukrainian:Chernihiv),9th 13th centuriesDerzhprom(State Industry)BuildingArchaeological Site“Kamyana Mohyla”The National Steppe Biosphere Reserve“Askania Nova”Fig.2:St.Catherines
60、Church,part of the historical ensemble of“Ancient Chernihiv”,has suffered minor damage such as broken windows and plaster on its outside walls.In addition,a large part of the pavement surrounding it has been destroyed.World Heritage Watch has funded the restoration of the church,which has already be
61、en completed.Photo:Iryna NikiforovaFig.3:Built in constructivist style in Kharkiv in 1928 when the town was the capital of the Ukrainian SSR,this huge modernist building complex was the first skyscraper of the USSR.The Derzhprom building has suffered structural damage from Russian shelling.It is now
62、 occupied by agencies related to the military,and no detailed infor-mation about the damage is available.Photo:Oleksandr MalyonFig.4:Kamyana Mohyla(“stone tomb”)is a unique monument of geology and archeology.It is a sand hill whose the grottoes and caves contain several thou-sand petroglyphs of noma
63、dic people who migrated in the Azov steppes for mil-lennia.Kamyana Mohyla is the only place in the world where drawings dat-ing from such a wide historical range can be found:from the Late Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages(XXIV-XX millennium BC-XI-XIII centuries AD).The site,lo-cated near the city of
64、Melitopol,has reportedly been mined by the Russian occu-pants.Photo:Sergey GoruppaFig.5:The Askania Nova Nature Reserve,located in Kherson Oblast,consists of a zoological park,a botanical garden,and one of the last original steppe areas in Ukraine.In addition to endemic species such as the Przevalsk
65、is horse,grassland animals from other parts of the world have been introduced,too.Russian occupant heavy military vehicles have trespassed the reserve and damaged valuable ecosys-tems.Photo:Ganna GayovaSpecial Report 11Cultural heritage in illegally annexed CrimeaAncient City of Tauric ChersonesusAs
66、 a result of information about harmful interventions by the Russian occupants,the World Heritage Committee in a 2016 Decision has urged“all parties currently associated with the state of conservation of the property to refrain from any ac-tion that would cause irreversible damages to the property an
67、d to fulfill their obligations under international law by taking all possible measures to protect the property;”and requested the State Party(Ukraine)“to invite,as soon as the situation allows,a joint World Heritage Centre/Advisory Bodies Reactive Mon-itoring mission to the property to assess its st
68、ate of conserva-tion.”(Decision 40 COM 7B.62 on the Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora(Ukraine).Bagesaray Palace of the Crimean Khans No reliable up-to-date information is available on the state of conservation of the sites inscribed in the World Heritage List or Ukraines Tentative List
69、 in Crimea and other occupied ter-ritories.The European Parliament has stated on Crimea:“The peninsula is rich in cultural heritage and has been subject to po-litically motivated interventions and russification of its history.There has been unlawful transfer of artefacts to Russia and ille-gal archa
70、eological excavations,the findings of which have been exported to Russia or sold on the black market.The unique cul-tural heritage of Crimean Tatars has been destroyed,and biased conservation works have obscured its origins.”(https:/epthink-tank.eu/2022/04/22/russias-war-on-ukraines-cultural-heritag
71、e/)The Cultural Heritage Support Network for UkraineWhen the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was subject to heavy shelling from approaching Russian forces in March,its World Heritage sites,the Sophia Cathedral and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Mon-astery,were under immediate threat of destruction.In that situation
72、 World Heritage Watch launched a public appeal to German museums to donate packaging materials to these and other World Heritage sites in order to pack up and store their movable objects away to safety in basements and bunkers.As a result,26 museums responded,and World Heritage Watch has been able t
73、o send tonnes of packaging materials to Ukraine which have been disseminated to various churches,museums and monuments all across the country.Our initiative merged later with others in order to create the Ukrainian Art Aid Network which has received substantial sup-port from the German government,al
74、lowing it to continue de-livering materials to Ukraine until today.Fig.6:Construction work conducted by Russian authorities damaging the ruins of the ancient city of Tauric Chersonesus in occupied Crimea,Ukraine.Photo:Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyFig.7:In the city of Bagesaray,illegally created bo
75、dies have seized 32 real estate objects of the national monument“Khans Palace”,which are a part of the Bage-saray State Historical and Cultural Reserve which is on Ukraines Tentative List.It has been established that this historical monument is being intentionally destroyed and damaged by large-scal
76、e illegal works.Fig.8:Packaging materials are being delivered to the St.Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv,19 May 2022.Photo:Iryna Nikiforova12 V.Monuments and Sites 13I.Natural Properties14 I.Natural PropertiesDevelopment Threat to Punta Carola,Isla San Cristbal,GalapagosSean Keegan,SOS GalapagosThe Galapago
77、s National Park occupies 97%of the land area in Galapagos,and only a limited number of sites can be visited by the public in the company of a National Park Guide.Fig.1:Zoning of the Galapagos Islands.Map:Sean Keegan.Punta Carola,which features a beach and a rocky promontory with lighthouse,is situat
78、ed on the northern limits of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno,the principal town of Isla San Cristobal and provincial capital of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.Punta Carola is home to a large colony of sea lions,blue footed boo-bies,pelicans,finches,turtles and other emblematic Galapa-gos species.The beach
79、 at Punta Carola is also a popular site with tourists and local families for wildlife watching,swimming,snorkelling,and surfing.Punta Carola is in the buffer zone between the unrestricted ar-eas and Park proper.It is identified as Zone 3,for public recre-ational and touristic use,with construction l
80、imited to the min-imum required to support that function,including walls,path-ways,signage,maintenance equipment,etc.Fig.3:Extract from the Galapagos National Park Plan de Manejo de las Areas Pro-tegidas de Galapagos para el Buen Vivir 2014(Management Plan of the Protected Areas of Galapagos for the
81、 Good Life 2014)Even so,some 8 hectares of land adjoining Punta Carola is within the town limits of the Municipality of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno,and privately owned by the company:Hoteles y Tu-rismo de Galpagos HOGALAPAGOS S.A.HOGALAPAGOS plans to build a 5-star hotel resort,the“Eco Hotel San Cristob
82、al”,at Carola.The resort boasts 147 rooms,distributed between a central unit,14 villas,4 double caba-nas,and 5 single cabanas,plus a convention centre,gymnasi-um-spa,bar,restaurant,and a private pier for guests.The pro-ject entails 17,754m2 of construction at a cost of$15.2 million.The beach itself,
83、specifically the first 8m above high water,is public property,held for the citizens of San Cristobal by the Municipality.In that respect,it cannot be owned or devel-oped by private interests.However,even if the beach were un-touched,construction on the immediate hinterland would be catastrophic for
84、the wildlife which lives and breeds there,par-ticularly these marine iguanas nesting in the scrub,beyond the 8m limit.Residents are alarmed at the prospect of a private resort on one of their favourite beaches.Existing access to Punta Carola passes through the proposed hotel location and we expect t
85、hat admission and use of the beach would be severely curtailed Fig.2:The beach at Punta Carola.Photo:Sean KeeganI.Natural Properties 15once it was developed.As a precedent,the residents do not have free access to their surf beaches south of the port which are beyond the navy base(itself occupying pu
86、blic land).HOGALAPAGOS is owned by a mixture of individuals,holding companies and hidden trusts,based in Ecuador and Panama.The sister of Raphael Correa(Ecuadors president until 2017)was,at one time,reported,by the owners,to be a partner in the project(we do not know if that still holds).Only reside
87、nts can own and develop property in Galapagos,so the HOGALAP-AGOS resort,like most such projects,is fronted by local“testa-ferros”(straw men),seemingly and suddenly blessed with the means to hold a 51%interest in a fifteen-million-dollar project.In October 2012,HOGALAPAGOS submitted plans for the re
88、-sort,but the towns architect advised against the issuance of a building permit,citing among other reasons:risk of inunda-tion by tsunami,excessive building height,lack of construction plans,lack of an environmental impact study,failure to recog-nize public ownership of the first 8m above high tide,
89、and high environmental impact.Nonetheless,a building permit was issued.At about this time the Asamblea Ci-udedana(Citizen Assembly),launched twin Facebook pages:“SOS Galap-agos”1 and“SOS Galapagos en Es-paol”,with the stated aim of“Help-1 https:/ as is and as planned.Photo:Juan Pablo MuozFig.4:Plan
90、of the proposed development Map:Parque Nacional Galpagos/HOGALAPAGOS investment brochure16 I.Natural Propertiesing to protect the Islands from opportunists and crass commer-cial exploitation”.In July 2013,the Galapagos Governing Council(CGREG)im-posed a moratorium on all new hotel construction or im
91、prove-ments.However,a year later,the CGREG released 20 select projects,including the HOGALAPAGOS resort,from the mora-torium and allowed them to seek its approval for construction.The HOGALAPAGOS resort was one of several hotel projects planned for the coastal zone between Playa Mann and the Ti-jere
92、tas,including Carola and Punta Lido.On September 30,2014,the Asamblea Ciudadana(Citizen Assembly)of San Cris-tobal resolved to declare the sector encompassing Playa Mann through Punta Lido and Carola to the Tijeretas“a protected area of scientific,social,ecological,and recreational interest to the c
93、ommunity of San Cristbal”.Petitions to support the resolution were sent to the mayor and councillors of the Mu-nicipality of San Cristobal,the Governor of Galapagos,and the Minister and President of the CGREG.After initial hesitation,San Cristobals municipal council voted unanimously to support the
94、Citizen Assembly resolution.So far,the council and mayor have stood by the resolution but,after six years,have yet to incorporate it in the Regulatory Plan.While the CGREG never responded to the Citizen Assembly pe-tition directly,it did set a size limit of 35 rooms or 70 places for all new projects
95、.A direct appeal from the Citizen Assembly to the President of Ecuador did result in the Director of the Galapagos National Park commissioning a study into the feasibility of declaring Punta Carola and surroundings:“.a protected area of Gal-apagos.”The results of this study,if undertaken,were never
96、published.On November 27,2014,the Asamblea Ciudedana submitted a constitutional challenge(Amparo)to the courts to prevent the Governing Council from giving permits to the hotels,in particu-lar the resort at Carola,which,contrary to the Galapagos law,were foreign-owned,and presented an immediate thre
97、at to the environment.After a favourable first hearing,the parties recon-vened for the second,at which time the judge subsequently declared the action“sin lugar”(without place).While UNESCO and several conservation organizations did not respond to messages from the Asamblea Ciudedana and SOS Galapag
98、os,a few conservation publications did publish articles to raise awareness of the environmental threat posed by the projects like Carola.Eventually the issue caught the attention of the Ecuadorian press and some offshore publications includ-ing Vice News.In July 2015,an article by Reuters was carrie
99、d by several major publications including the Guardian,New York Times,and Washington Post.On September 4,2015,one year after its partial lifting of the moratorium,the Governing Council approved 3 of the projects then under consideration.The Carola resort was not approved.Since then,several developer
100、s have successfully appealed their initial rejection,and their projects are now proceeding.So far,the HOGALAPAGOS project has not been approved,despite the owners appeals to the Governing Council,Ministry of Tourism,the National Park,and even the President of Ecuador.All the time it has failed to ob
101、tain regulatory approval,HOGAL-APAGOS has been waging a campaign,through written and television media,to persuade the residents of San Cristobal that the resort will generate a thousand jobs,will not affect their ac-cess to the beach and will not harm the environment.The rea-sons for rejection by re
102、gulatory authorities are misrepresented if mentioned at all.We appear to be at an impasse,with the resort being repeat-edly rejected by the authorities but still aggressively promoted by the developer through direct appeals to the affected popula-tion.There is a real danger of this strategy succeedi
103、ng.Whereas there was unanimous and vociferous opposition to the resort before the Pandemic,the population is now divided,with a greater post-pandemic need for investment and employment,and many buying the developers argument that since Carola is in private hands,the project cannot be stopped.The env
104、i-ronmental argument is being pushed into the background with those striving to protect Carola being cast as“anti-investment”and“anti-recovery”.Civic elections are only 6 months away and a new mayor and council could issue a building permit,just as they did some 10 years ago,despite the same environ
105、mental and regulatory obstacles that already existed at that time.While the moratorium of July 2013 continues to stifle local as-pirations,it has proved no obstacle to those with sufficient funds or influence.Several major developments,including three waterfront hotels and a luxury holiday home comp
106、lex at Playa Mann,have proceeded nonetheless.So long as the land between Playa Mann,Carola and Tijeretas remains in private hands,it remains in peril.So,perhaps the only way to save Carola is to buy back or ex-propriate the property from HOGALAPAGOS.But we anticipate that being a considerable challe
107、nge,in legal terms,in cost,and efficacy,particularly in the long term.Accordingly,we need as-sistance in the following:1.Determine and negotiate a reasonable price for expropria-tion of the land at Carola.2.Determine who can and should be the new custodian of Carola:the municipality of Puerto Baquer
108、izo Moreno;the Galapagos National Park;the CGREG,or some other body.3.Raise funds for the purchase,in conjunction with the local government,conservation bodies and direct public appeals.I.Natural Properties 17Pressure to Downsize Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park AgainRede Nacional Pr-Unidades de
109、ConservaoThe Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park,located in the state of Gois,in the Structural Province of Tocantins,was created in 1961 and currently protects 240,611 hectares of the Cerrado biome.Recognized in 2001 by UNESCO as a Natural World Heritage Site,within the Cerrado Biosphere Reserve,th
110、is National Park contains extensive portions of high-altitude savannah and grassland formations,such as those found in the Pouso Alto and Paran mountain ranges,with abundant springs,quartz crystals,buritis and endemic species,reflecting the unparalleled vastness of the Central Plateau.The internatio
111、nal visibility given to the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park through this report is fundamental to increase the attention given to this important conservation unit,responsible for protecting the water reserves of the Tocantins River,which runs for 2,416 kilometers and is one of the main water cat
112、ch-ment basins of Brazil.ThreatsAlthough the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is emblem-atic in central Brazil for maintaining the balance of ecosystems in the region,some threats are already affecting its effective preservation of nature.The Park has undergone a troubled process of changes in it
113、s size and boundaries over the years:its creation decree deter-mined the protection of 625,000 hectares;more than a decade later,it suffered a reduction of 72%of its area,to 171,924.54 hectares;after a few years,a further reduction resulted in the protection of only 60,000 hectares,representing 9.5%
114、of the original size;currently there are 240,585.56 hectares protected,according to the Decree of June 5,2017.Although the Brazilian Federal Constitution makes it impossible to reduce the area of any Protected Area unless it is done by law,there are still spurious attempts to get around this guide-l
115、ine by some representatives of the Legislative Power:There are two Legislative Decree Projects,PDL n 338/21 and PDL n 1.072/21,that intend,contrary to the constitution,to rescind the decree that outlined the current limits of the National Park.Its climate is a transition between the Amazon region an
116、d the semi-arid northeast of Brazil,with humid summers and dry winters,which contributes to the richness of the biodiversity,formed by unique species of fauna and flora,besides hundreds of springs,water courses and waterfalls,and unique geological aspects.The region has been the stage for fundamenta
117、l scientific re-search for the understanding and preservation of natural re-sources and for the training of professional researchers,in ad-dition to contributing to environmental education and public visitation projects-in the last ten years,the number of visitors to the Park has jumped from 23,000
118、to about 80,000 per year,which boosts the economy of the municipalities in the region due to ecotourism services.Fig.1:Garimpo I falls of the Rio Preto.Photo:Zig KochFig.2:Tourism in the Cerrado.Photo:Zig Koch18 I.Natural PropertiesThe current pressure for downsizing occurs because owners of rural a
119、reas in and around the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park,dissatisfied with the legal obligation of nature protection caused by the Protected Area,lobby some congressmen to an-nul the current Decree,who,in turn,seek popular support for these initiatives to prosper.The problems take on greater conto
120、urs when the owners of properties that have not yet been expropriated are stimulated to carry out prohibited activities,such as deforestation,min-ing,and burning,as well as when there are incentives for land grabbing and the consequent invasion of the interior of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National P
121、ark,with interventions in the vegetation,water resources,and soil that harm the natural resources.Furthermore,although forest fires occur naturally inside and outside the boundaries of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park,due to atmospheric and environmental conditions,there are also criminal fir
122、es that affect the Protected Area when they get out of control,since they are set without legal permission and are provoked by rural land owners for agricultural practices.In September 2021,a large forest fire with different initial out-breaks in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region burned approxi-matel
123、y 36 thousand hectares of vegetation,of which 18 thou-sand hectares were inside the Park,which led the Municipality of Alto Paraso de Gois to declare a state of emergency,pro-hibiting the use of fire to burn vegetation,garbage or furniture.Therefore,if measures against these threats are not imposed
124、by the Executive and Legislative branches of government,the probability of losing considerable portions of the currently pro-tected area increases,undermining its environmental function.ImportanceThe Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is home to various groups of fauna that depend on the conservati
125、on of the Cer-Fig.3:The changing boundaries and present extension of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park and World Heritage Site.Map:Martin LenkFig.4:Wildfire at the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park.Photo:TV AnhangueraI.Natural Properties 19rado vegetation and on the quality of the water reso
126、urces to develop their life habits,including several endangered species.Special attention is given to the Brazilian Merganser,a rare bird used to mountainous rivers,bioindicator of springs and water courses in good conservation status,which seeks these ecolog-ical refuges as its habitat.In geologica
127、l terms,the National Park presents,predominantly,rocks originated from marine sediments.Its relief is character-ized by the Goiana Central Plateau and the Tocantins Depres-sion,with plateaus,plateaus,flattened surfaces,inselbergs and mountain escarpments.The unique geological history,geomorphology,a
128、nd soils condi-tion this diversity of landscapes,which in turn has provided for the evolution of a diverse flora with species adapted to these adverse environments,such as the new grass genus Alto para-disium and the new species Triraphis devia,and rare or endemic flora species such as Maytenus chap
129、adensis,Eremanthus vea-deiroensis,and Chamaecrista cavalcantina.The preservation of significant samples of the diverse Cerrado physiognomic forms makes the Chapada dos Veadeiros Na-tional Park an in natura genetic bank of this Brazilian biome and a natural laboratory for recuperation and restoration
130、 practices of the countryside and savannah formations.Extensive dry fields in the interfluves and floodable fields in the lowlands are cut by paths and gallery forests following the wa-tercourses.In the higher areas and on stony soils with quartzite outcroppings are found the rupestrian cerrados.In
131、the geolog-ical contacts to the North and East there are dry forests on the slopes.Inserted in the region known as the cradle of the waters,the National Park protects aquifer recharge areas,hundr We also request the Committee eds of springs in the higher portions of the Central Plateau that supply t
132、he Tocantins-Araguaia river ba-sin,the largest drainage basin exclusively in Brazil.Its abundance of clean water is the attribute most sought-after by visitors,found in the many local waterfalls,wells,rivers and streams.RecommendationsFor the maintenance and preservation of the current area of the C
133、hapada dos Veadeiros National Park,it is highly relevant that the Ministry of the Environment and the presidency of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation investigate and properly assess and appreciate the importance of this Pro-tected Area for the surrounding municipalities,due to
134、 the eco-system services provided and the economic activities that are made possible by it,Furthermore,we call upon the UNESCO World Heritage Com-mittee to request the Brazilian State Party to submit any draft law or plan to change the boundaries of the Park to the World Heritage Committee for appro
135、val according to Annex 11 of the Operational Guidelines.We also request the Committee to urge the Brazilian State Party to implement promptly the due land title legalization of the Park,which would solve many of the threats it faces.Fig.5:Charred vegetation after the fire.Photo:TV AnhangueraFig.6:Ja
136、rdim de Maitreya.Photo:Zig Koch20 I.Natural PropertiesUncontrolled Fires Threaten the Wetlands of the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park Letcia Larcher,Anglica Guerra,Betina Kellermann and Angelo Paccelli Cipriano Rabelo,Instituto Homem Pantaneiro The Pantanal is the largest wetland in South Ameri
137、ca and one of the largest reservoirs of biodiversity in the world.It extends mainly into the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso,and into the territory of Bolivia and Paraguay.The level of fragility of the Pantanal is high,and the consequences of hu-man practices represent serious
138、 pressures to the entire region.Excessive fishing,deforestation,acute erosion,dams generat-ing hydrodynamic changes and others motivated the authori-ties to create in 1994 the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park(PARNA PANTANAL).In 2000,part of this ecoregion,the Pantanal Conservation Area,represent
139、ing 1.3%of the Brazilian Pantanal,was inscribed on UNESCOs World Heritage List.In the same year,26,400,000 hectares were named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.The third largest biosphere reserve in the world,the Pantanal Biosphere Reserve is home to a diversity of flora and fauna that is par-ticularly va
140、luable,containing at least 4,700 described species.Nearly two million people live in the World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve.The Pantanal Conservation Area comprises a cluster of five contiguous protected areas:the PARNA Panta-nal and the Private Reserves of Acurizal,Penha,Doroche and Rumo Oes
141、te,covering a total area of 190,363 hectares.All the components of the property are part of the larger Biosphere Reserve and the National Park is,furthermore,recognized as a Ramsar site.The property includes the greater part of the Amolar mountain-ous ridge with a maximum altitude of 900 meters.The
142、transi-tion between the seasonally flooded areas and the mountains is abrupt.This ecological gradient is unique to the whole Pan-tanal region and offers a dramatic landscape.Located between the basins of the Cuiab and Paraguay rivers,the site plays a key role in the spreading of nutritive materials
143、during flooding as well as in the maintenance of fish stocks in the Pantanal.Al-though the property only covers a small part of the Pantanal,it is representative and of sufficient size to ensure the continuity of ecological processes.It also protects numerous threatened species,such as the giant arm
144、adillo,giant anteater,river otter,marsh deer and the hyacinth macaw,the largest species of par-rot.The jaguar population in the property is probably the big-gest in the entire Pantanal region.The number of aquatic plant species found there is also remarkable.Forest fires the biggest threat to the Pa
145、ntanal Conservation Area In 2020 The Pantanal Conservation Area was threatened by fires of unprecedented scale and magnitude.According to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency,this is due to a combin-ation of factors:rainfall below the historical average,low rela-tive humidity,and high temperat
146、ures.The rainy season in the region ranges from November to March.The historical rainfall average is 810 mm for the period.From November 2019 until March 12th,2020 it has rained 350 mm,which corresponds to 43%of the expected historical average.The Paraguay River reached the lowest level in 50 years.
147、In turn,there has been an increase in hot spots.With no rain expected until September/October and with the occurrence of almost 5,000 fire spots from January to July 2020(of which 80%in Corumb and along the Paraguay River mainstem),the region was declared in a situation of environmental and rural em
148、ergency by the state government.In April,the first activities to fight forest fires began.On that occasion,fires were detected in the Serra do Amolar region,with outbreaks to the north of the mountain range(PARNA do Pantanal)and to the south(Santa Teresa farm).Thus,IBAMA hired 15 brigadiers on an em
149、ergency basis.The Corumb Mili-tary Fire Department was responsible for monitoring the areas close to the city of Corumb(Baa Negra).From the beginning,fighting in the south of the Amolar ridge was prioritized and fighting to prevent the fire from reaching the mountains,as it would make combat difficu
150、lt,in addition to the greater envi-ronmental damage.At the end of July,Operation Pantanal was launched,with the Operations Command remaining with the Brazilian Navy,after a request for support made by the State Government with the Ministry of Defense,initially and with the Ministry of the En-vironme
151、nt in a second moment.At the end of August,with the situation in the Amolar ridge normalized,the Operations Command moved to SESC Pantanal,in the municipality of Po-con-Mato Grosso State with the worsening of the situation in the Pantanal North.On September 25,2020,the situation became critical agai
152、n in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul,which is why the Center for Combat Operations of the Prevfogo I.Natural Properties 21National Center called brigades from other Brazilian states(BA,PE and PI)to take off to Corumb-MS.In October 2020,at the most critical moment,there were 173,152 hot spots in t
153、he Pantanal(as can be seen in the map be-low,Fig.1).Instituto Homem Pantaneiro identified 23,883 hot spots in the buffer zone of the Natural Heritage Site of Human-ity and 50,340 in the areas of PARNA Pantanal and Reserves.At this time,fire hotspots were identified in 80%of the PARNA Pantanal and Re
154、serves area.The areas that had incidence of hot spots were Fazenda Santa Tereza(7,409 hot spots),RPPN Dor-oche(3,224 hot spots),RPPN Acurizal(2,118 hot spots),RPPN Penha(1,774 hot spots),RPPN Engenheiro Eliezer Batista(372 hot spots),Fazenda Morro Alegre(147 hot spots),Fazenda Vale do Paraso(45 hot
155、spots),Fazenda So Gonalo(26 hot spots),Fazenda Santa Rosa(12 hot spots)and RPPN“Rumo Oeste”(2 hot spots).Such an unprecedented situation has exceeded the human con-tingent and the local infrastructure for fighting forest fires.Air-planes of the Brazilian Air Force and helicopters of the Fire De-part
156、ment were used to control the lines of fire.However,as the fire spread towards the protected areas of greater biodiversity RPPN Doroch;(2)fire to the east,originating in a farm area in Porto Jofre region and Piquiri river,in MS,which affected the PARNA Pantanal and the RPPN Doroch;(3)fire to the sou
157、th,originating near the Paraguay river,south of the Chan region and close to the Paraguai-mirim,which reached the PARNA Pantanal;(4)fire to the southwest,originating in a farm area lo-cated in the foothills of Serra do Amolar,and to the west,in the Palmital region,and which affected RPPN Penha,RPPN
158、Acurizal and PARNA Pantanal;(5)fire to the west,originating from an electrical discharge(lightning)in the region close to Baa Gava,and which reached the PARNA Pantanal.PARNA Pantanal had 85.66%of the area affected;RPPN Doroch had 99.39%of its area affected;RPPN Penha had 77.49%of its ares affected,a
159、nd RPPN Acurizal had 85.29%of its area affected.Therefore,Fig.1:Details of fires in the Serra do Amolar region in 2020:a)Total fires in October.b)Comparison of burned areas in September and October 2020.Maps:Instituto Homem Pantaneiro (including the Natural Heritage Sites).Professional and volun-tee
160、r brigadiers worked with back sprayers and flappers(Fig.2,next page).The origin of these fires that reached the area of the World Natural Heritage Site were located in at least 05(five)differ-ent sources,being:(1)fire in the northeast,originating in the area of farms located in the region of Estrada
161、 Transpantaneira,in Pocon-MT,which reached the PARNA Pantanal and the 22 I.Natural Propertiesapproximately 87%of the area of the World Natural Heritage Site“Pantanal Conservation Areas was affected by forest fires during the year 2020.The Rapid Response Facility support in 2020 In August 2020,the Ra
162、pid Response Facility,a joint initiative of UNESCO and Fauna and Flora International(FFI),supported firefighting activity in the Pantanal Biosphere Reserve to prevent fires from spreading into the Pantanal Conservation Area.Several governmental and non-governmental institutions col-laborate to manag
163、e fires in the Pantanal,but resources are in-sufficient for this level of disaster.The RRF has therefore pro-vided US$37,745 to Instituto Homem Pantaneiro.With these resources IHP acquired equipment that was used in the com-bat,IHP hired overflight hours to carry out the exploration of areas,in addi
164、tion to financing the displacement of the teams with fuel.In the RPPN Acurizal,around 40 brigades carried out day and night combat on several occasions and controlled forest fires that originated in the southwest of Serra do Amo-lar,a region known as Palmital,on the border with Bolivia.At Fig.2:Some
165、 images from the fight against fire,with volunteers and professional brigadiers at Amolar ridge in October 2020.Photos:Andr ZumakI.Natural Properties 23RPPN Penha,10 brigadiers managed to control the outbreaks.At PARNA Pantanal we worked with ICMBio brigadiers to fight fire.If there was no emergency
166、 resource,we could have fewer days of combat and a slower response.As a result,uncontrolled fire could pose a greater threat to the homes of communities sur-rounding the PARNA area.The purchase of the equipment was also essential to allow the mobilization of more teams,in ad-dition to those provided
167、 by the government.We carried out the training of new brigade members,with the projects fuel resource added to the resources of IBAMA PrevFogo and IHP.If there were no financial resources,there would be no ready-made equipment,trained brigades,resulting in larger and more extensive fires.Conclusion
168、Considering the“Pantanal Conservation Area”,the total area burned in 2020 was 179,223 ha,corresponding to 94,5%of the total area(Fig.3).In 2021,fortunately,there were no fires in this region.Fires are relatively normal in the region during the dry season,which runs from April to September.However,wh
169、at happened in 2020 is something unprecedented and the result of a climatic anomaly that resulted in only 40%of the rain expected for the summer period(November 2019 to March 2020).The probable cause of this catastrophic situation is climatic anomalies result-ing from global climate change in additi
170、on to the traditional practice of burning pastures to improve grassland bio mass for livestock.Environmental plans,instruments and policies must increasingly incorporate elements of adaptation to extreme climate events,such as droughts and floods.It is essential that the pro-tected area system of th
171、e Pantanal Natural World Heritage Site adopt contingency plans and re-sponses to extreme weather events to increase their resilience.Thus,resources need to be in-vested in more equipment,materials,human re-sources,brigade training and preventive actions so that what happened in 2020 will never be re
172、peated.Fig.3:“Pantanal Conservation Area”:Total burned area in 2020.Map:Instituto Homem Pantaneiro 24 I.Natural PropertiesPotential Reopening of the Estrada do Colono Threatens Iguau National ParkRede Nacional Pr-Unidades de ConservaoThe Iguau National Park protects the largest portion of the At-lan
173、tic Forest in the south of Brazil,a biome with one of the rich-est biodiversities in the world and strongly impacted by human activities.It was the second National Park to be created in Bra-zil,in 1939,and has a total area of 185,262.5 hectares.It is lo-cated in the state of Paran and its main attra
174、ction is the Iguau Falls,the largest set of waterfalls in the world,especially the Devils Throat,which is 150 meters high and 80 meters wide.The canyon was formed on igneous rocks resulting from the spilling of volcanic lava and contains around 200 waterfalls.The Iguau National Park was the first Pr
175、otected Area in Bra-zil to receive the title of World Natural Heritage Site,from the United Nations Educational,Scientific,and Cultural Organiza-tion(UNESCO),on November 28,1986,for being considered exceptional in terms of biological diversity and landscape.ThreatsDespite its importance,the Iguau Na
176、tional Park is currently un-der threat from two Bills,one in each House of Congress,that intend to allow the construction of a highway cutting through the Protected Area on the road previously known as Estrada do Colono(Colonizers Road).In the House of Representatives,Bill 984/19 had a request for u
177、rgency in its processing accepted in 2021,which means that its legislative process is closer to being finalized,with a fa-vorable vote by the House Plenary.In the Federal Senate,the House Bill 61/13 is currently in the Environment Commission,ready to be put on the agenda and has already received a f
178、a-vorable vote,which increases its risk of approval and,consequently,dan-gers to the Iguau National Park.The extinct Estrada do Colono,a 17.6 km stretch of Highway PR-495,now deactivated,connected the municipal-ities of Capanema and Serranpolis do Iguau for a few years in the middle of the last cent
179、ury,and cut through the interior of the National Park,fragmenting it.Although there is no historical certainty about the origin of the Colonizers Road,it is known that several trails were used by the population of western Paran to travel between the settle-ments there at the beginning of the last ce
180、ntury for the colo-nization of the region,which has always been associated with deforestation and increased pollution.In 1986,the Federal Public Ministry judicially requested the clo-sure of the road and the taking of the necessary measures for environmental restoration in the area occupied by it.Th
181、e deci-sion of the Judiciary,in 1987,was in favor of closing the Road,which generated a popular movement against the decision.The Associao de Integrao Comunitria Pr-Estrada do Colono(Pro-Colonizers Road Community Integration Association)was founded,which,over the years,organized various movements fo
182、r its opening.In May 1997 the first invasion of the old road by locals occurred,and in January 1998 a new invasion took place,which led UN-ESCO to include the Iguau National Park in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1999.In 2001,the Judiciary imposed co-Fig.1:Devils Throat Falls,Iguau National
183、 Park.Photo:Zig KochI.Natural Properties 25ercive measures to close the Colonizers Road,carried out by the Federal Police,the Army,and IBAMA,which is why UNESCO removed the Iguau National Park from the list of Endangered Heritage.Currently,the vegetation has regenerated and occupies the old roadbed,
184、although there is an attempt to rebuild it,through two initiatives of the National Congress.In summary,House Bill No.61/13 and Bill No.984/19 seek to reopen the Colonizers Road by legislative means,despite the fact that the Judicial Power has already decided for the mainte-nance of its closure.Consi
185、dering that the Iguau National Park and its main attrac-tion are recognized worldwide and are symbols of preservation and well-being close to nature,the approval of these projects would mean to create a stain on Brazils image,which will thus indicate,before the international community,a total disres
186、pect for its own natural heritage.After all,the problems related to the intended construction of the road are summarized by deforestation,use of polluting machinery to cut down veg-etation,compacting the soil in closed forests,use of the road by invad-ers for illegal access to the Park,ille-gal hunt
187、ing,including of endangered fauna species,biopiracy,illegal extrac-tion of endangered plant species,in-vasion of the Atlantic Forest by exotic species,edge effect,and exposure of fauna and flora to external factors,among others.These threats are even more serious in the ecosystems of the wider Iguau
188、 National Park,which is one of the largest biodiversity refuges in Brazil.ImportanceAmong the more than 1,580 species of fauna located within the Park,the following endangered species are found:black-fronted piping-guan(Aburiia jacutinga),white-bearded ant-shrike(Biatas nigropectus),oncilla(Leopardu
189、s tigrinus),hel-meted woodpecker(Dryocopus galeatus),ocelot(Leopardus pardalis mitis),red myotis(Myotis ruber),butterfly(Ochropyge ruficauda),jaguar(Panthera onca),black-faced piprites(Piprites pileata),puma(Puma concolor capricornensis)and fasciated ti-ger-heron(Tigrisoma fas-ciatum).The integrity
190、of this Protected Area is especially important for the jaguar(Panthera onca)population,since,adding its Brazil-ian territory with the protected area in Argentina,the area is the only Atlantic Forest refuge in the southern part of the world where the population of this species is growing.Fig.2:Iguau
191、National Park and the proposed Estrada do Colono.Map:Meghie Rodrigues/NatureFig.3:Aerial view of Iguau National Park.The former Estrada do Colono is com-pletely overgrown and its former route visible only from the air.Photo:Marcos LabancaFig.4:Jaguar(Panthera onca).Photo:Zig Koch26 I.Natural Propert
192、iesA census conducted by ICMBio revealed that the population of the species,in 2009,was composed of only 11 individuals,while in 2016 there were 22 and,in 2018,28 jaguars were found in the Iguau National Park.As for the flora,among the more than 1,200 species found in the Park,two ecosystems predomi
193、nate,the Seasonal Semide-ciduous Forest,with importance for the species peroba-rosa(Aspidosperma polyneuron)and assai palm(Euterpe edulis),and the Mixed Ombrophylous Forest,which predominates at altitudes above 700 meters,whose characteristic species are the yerba mate(Ilex paraguariensis)and the Br
194、azilian pine(Araucaria angustifolia).RecommendationsGiven the importance of this Natural Heritage of Humanity,which is threatened by initiatives in the National Congress,the rejection of Bill 61/13 in the Senate and Bill 984/19 in the House of Representatives is necessary for the Conservation Unit t
195、o be protected.Thus,a direct communication from the World Heritage Centre with the respective Presidents of the Legislative Houses,warn-ing about the importance of preserving the Iguau National Park and about the environmental,economic and social risks that the bills in question bring,affecting Braz
196、il as a whole,is fundamental.Furthermore,the World Heritage Centre should request from the State Party of Brazil,according to 172 of the Operational Guidelines,to submit all plans for the reopening of the Estrada do Colono for examination by the World Heritage Committee before any irreversible decis
197、ion may be taken.I.Natural Properties 27Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya Cultural Heritage Threatened by New Tourism DevelopmentsAnonymous AuthorCataract Island Tours LaunchedThe World Heritage Committee will,no doubt,be fully aware of the issues and problems relating to the Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya
198、 World Heritage Site(WHS)following the recent UN-ESCO monitoring visit to the site and report to be presented to the 2022 Conference.Despite all the focus on increasing tourism pressures surrounding the site,the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority have apparently authorised a lo-cal touri
199、sm operator to launch exclusive tours to the previously protected wildlife refuge of Cataract Island,including swim-ming in a natural pool on the edge of the Falls a controversial development that was last proposed in 2016 and resulted in the Committee specifically requesting an ESIA for the develop
200、ment.This has,again,not been completed.Together with the launch of a new website, and Facebook group,a promotional launch email was sent in mid-April to tourism agents by Zambezi Crescent,operators of the Victoria Falls River Lodge:“A fully guided experience including a short boat trip across the ca
201、lm waters of the channel to Cataract Island.Once disem-barked,a guided tour of the Island follows,including time to explore the new section of Victoria Falls that is busy forming.Enjoy plenty of free time for optional swimming in the warm,clear pools on the face of the falls,or to explore some of th
202、e most spectacular scenery that nature has to offer.”(Cataract Pools launch email)The new activity was launched without public or local stake-holder disclosure and consultation,with no Environmental and Social Impact Assessment(ESIA)process,and it would appear,without duly notifying UNESCO or waitin
203、g the Committees comments on the proposals.1Cataract Island,located at the western end of the Falls,was the last area of the Falls rainforest untouched by tourism foot-fall and development.This fragile environment,the rich vegeta-tion zone immediately surrounding the Falls and supported by the never
204、 ending spray,nourishes a diverse flora of rare ground plants and shrubs,highly vulnerable to trampling and distur-bance.It is also,significantly,the point where the erosion of a new gorge and waterfall is beginning to form in the ongoing geological evolution of the Falls.It is not only,therefore,of
205、 key ecological importance to the Falls as we see them today,but also in the ongoing process of the development of a future rainforest zone alongside a new waterfall(see Fig.1)Tours to Livingstone Island became popular in the early days of tourism to the Falls,after the arrival of the railway and co
206、n-struction of the Bridge across the gorge,opened in 1905.At the of-ficial opening tours were arranged to see the tree that Livingstones had carved his initials,which it was claimed were still visible.Organ-ised tours to the island appear to have ended in the 1960s,before being re-launched by a Zamb
207、ian operator in the mid-1990s,includ-ing swimming in the now famous Devils Pool on the edge of the Falls.In contrast Cataract Island,also known by its traditional name of Boaruka,has been largely pro-tected as a pristine nature reserve Fig.1:Aerial view of Victoria Falls showing Cataract(left)and Li
208、vingstone Islands(centre).Photo:the autor28 I.Natural Propertiesand wildlife sanctuary as part of the surrounding Victoria Falls National Park,with no tourist access allowed until now.Dj vu?In 2016 the same operator attempted to launch this activity,again without due disclosure or consultation,resul
209、ting in wide-spread negative reaction and an online petition protesting against the development,signed by over 17,750 people.2It also resulted in a letter to the State Parties requesting further details of the proposal:“The World Heritage Centre sent two letters(dated 23 Novem-ber 2016 and 25 Januar
210、y 2017)to the States Parties to request information on the proposed hotel and recreational facilities in Livingstone,and use of the Cataract Island for tourism.”(World Heritage Committee Comment,2017)This was followed by a specific request from the World Her-itage Committee for details for the Catar
211、act Island proposal,specifically requesting an En-vironmental and Social Im-pact Assessment(ESIA)for the proposal.“Also noting with concern the State Party of Zambias intention to partner with pri-vate investors to construct a hotel and recreational facil-ities inside the property,fur-ther requests
212、the States Par-ties to clarify the exact locations of all developments and the plans to utilize Cataract Island for tourism,and to submit to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN,an ESIA for each of these projects,including a specific assessment of the im-pacts on OUV.”(World Heritage Committ
213、ee Decision,2017)In reply,in their 2018 State of Conservation Report,the State Parties confirmed that there had been no developments on the ground and specifically committed to duly update the Commit-tee on all future developments involving Cataract Island.“The States Parties took note of the concer
214、n raised relating to the construction of a hotel,recreational facilities inside the property and utilisation of the Cataract Island for tourism.The States Parties therefore,would like to report that there are no developments on the ground and will update the committee in line with the operational gu
215、idelines.”(State Parties,2018)Yet this activity is now being advertised and bookings presum-ably taken,whilst the promised prior notification and ESIA re-ports do not appear to have been completed,as there was no public disclosure or stakeholder consultation,required elements of any Environmental an
216、d Social Impact Assessment.It also appears that work has also started on preparing two sites along Zambezi Drive for reception and associated restau-rant facilities relating to the tours to the island,immediately up-stream of the Falls.This is in addition to a new Parks building which appeared half-
217、way along Zambezi Drive earlier this year(see Fig.4).Scrub and trees have been cleared in preparation for these developments(see:Fig.5).The riverbank area is sup-posed to be protected within the National Park,and well as be-ing within the buffer zone surrounding the World Heritage Site.An additional
218、 proposal for a Tree Lodge development along the riverine fringe surrounding the Elephant Hills Golf Course also Fig.2:Zoning of the Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage Site.Source:State Parties 2007,p.38Fig.3:View of Cataract Island from the opposite side of the gorge.Photo:the autorI.Natur
219、al Properties 29appears to have started work before any ESIA process(access road created in 2021)and there are also two more exclusive riv-erside lodge developments,including at least one island camp,proposed along the upstream river section of the WHS(Kanda-har camp and Picnic Site No.14).3 This is
220、 after Zambia also proceeded with the development of the Mosi-oa-Tunya Resort without full disclosure to UNESCO or awaiting their comments on the revised development propos-als.It appears that Zimbabwe is determined to get away with a similar disregard for due process and procedure.Cultural Signific
221、anceThe Falls,gorges and even the spray itself are all part of a sa-cred cultural landscape for the local Leya under Chief Mukini and Chief Sekute,a place of power in the landscape.Many of these traditions have undergone a recent resurgence,re-presented for tourism,although the most significant aspe
222、cts of these spiritual beliefs,including the use of the two islands along the line of the Falls,appear to be today largely forgotten.4 The river is associated with powers of healing,with sacred nat-ural swimming pools on the very lip of the Falls used for cleans-ing rituals.Water,collected from sacr
223、ed sites on the river,is used is rain-making and other traditional ceremonies.At the heart of this belief system was that the eternal spray and ephemeral rainbows of the Falls were the home of ancestral spirits the mists of the dead.David Livingstone and other early visitors recorded that the both o
224、f the two islands on the edge of the Falls were used for traditional ceremonies and as a place to make offerings and pay respects to the ancestors.“The ancient Batoka chieftains used Kazeruka,now Garden Is-land,and Boaruka,the island further west,also on the lip of the Falls,as sacred spots for wors
225、hipping the Deity.It is no wonder that under the cloudy columns,and near the brilliant rainbows,with the ceaseless roar of the cataract,with the per-petual flow,as if pouring forth from the hand of the Almighty,their souls should be filled with reverential awe.”(Livingstone and Livingstone,1865)Toda
226、y this deeper spiritual significance of the Falls and islands appears to be largely forgotten.Cultural history and traditions,suppressed for almost a century,have since independence re-ceived a resurgence of interest.But recent site management reports appear to overlook this cultural significance of
227、 these is-lands.The 2021-30 Strategic Environmental and Social Impact Assessment(prepared in-house by the State Parties)makes no specific mention of their traditional sacred significance,de-spite extensive sections on the cultural traditions relating to the Falls.The recent Joint Integrated Manageme
228、nt Plans for the site vaguely records:“On the Zimbabwean side,according to Chiefs Mvutu,Shana and Hwange,there are ritual sites mainly on islands along the Zambezi River.Kazeruka(now Garden Island)and the Boa-ruka Island.”(State Parties,2016)ConclusionThere are concerns that by preparing their own S
229、ESIA report,and by not insisting on comprehensive and independent En-vironmental and Social Impact Assessments for each develop-ment proposal affecting the site,that the State Parties are not assessing the full impacts of these developments on its Out-standing Universal Value,or respecting their obl
230、igations under the World Heritage Listing.The State Parties have,in their recent actions in relation to both the Mosi-oa-Tunya Resort and Cataract Island tours,shown a disregard for due process,their own management and plan-ning procedures and the guidance and advice of the World Heritage Committee.
231、The state of development,current man-agement and future status of this World Heritage Site needs serious review and investigation.For the second time in the short history of this site,there ap-pears to be a need for moratorium on new tourism develop-ments(including expansion of existing developments
232、)pending submission of detailed reporting on present tourism develop-Fig.5:Recently cleared area,Zambezi Drive(April 2022).Photo:the autorFig.4:New Parks building,along the riverbank above the Falls(Zambezi Drive).Photo:the autor30 I.Natural Propertiesments and impacts within and around the property
233、 as re-quested by the 2006 Reactive Monitoring Mission Report(World Heritage Committee,2007)and sadly still lacking from management documents,finalisation of the boundary and buffer zones,and presentation of appropriate ongoing man-agement plans for the site.ReferencesLivingstone,D.and Livingstone,C
234、.(1865)Narrative of an expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries and of the discovery of the lakes Shirwa and Nyassa,1858-1864.John Murray,London(p.258).State Parties,2007:Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage Site Joint Man-agement Plan 2007-2012State Parties,2016.Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-T
235、unya World Heritage Site,Joint Inte-grated Management Plan,2016-2021(p.22/90).State Parties,2018.Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage Site,State of Conservation Report,2018(p.5/21).World Heritage Committee,2007.Mission Report Mosi-oa-Tunya,Victoria Falls(Zambia/Zimbabwe)20-25 November 2006.Wo
236、rld Heritage Committee Comment,2017.Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2017(https:/whc.unesco.org/en/soc/3562)World Heritage Committee Decision,2017.(41 COM 7B.22(N 509)Endnotes1 Fears Grow Over Falls World Heritage Status.Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs,20th April 2022-h
237、ttp:/ Cataract Island threatened by tourism development.Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs,6th December 2016-https:/ Zambezi River Scenes Which Inspired Livingstone Under Threat.Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs.February 2021-http:/ Legends of the Falls-Spirits of the Falls.Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs,30 A
238、pril 2022-http:/ Properties 31UNESCO and the European Union Come to the Rescue of DoanaJuanjo Carmona and Teresa Gil,WWF SpainWith the objective of assessing the conservation status of the Doana Protected Area,in the southeast of Spain(Andalusian region),in January 2011 a joint Reactive Monitoring M
239、ission was carried out by the World Heritage Centre(WHC),IUCN and the Ramsar Council Secretariat,which concluded with a report de-tailing the challenges and problems faced by Doana,as well as possible solutions.Since then UNESCO has approved seven decisions on Doana.The last being in 2021 included s
240、everal requests including 15 recommendations,from the last mission to Doana(Febru-ary 2020),to be implemented by the Spanish government,to-gether with those pending from previous decisions.UNESCO will continue to monitor Doana closely,and is con-cerned about the poor state of conservation of the are
241、a de-spite the efforts being made,the fact that the aquifer has been declared overexploited,and the ruling of the European Court of Justice.In addition,UNESCO has asked the Spanish govern-ment to create a buffer zone that includes not only the Nat-ural Park,but also the Ramsar zone,the entire area d
242、eclared by the EU as a Natura 2000 zone,and other protected areas in the immediate catchment areas.UNESCO also recommends that the Spanish government consolidate a proposal for a Ma-rine Protected Area adjacent to the current protected area that includes possible assets of natural marine importance
243、and that could be integrated into this World Heritage site.Last but not least,the Spanish Government has to update the Outstanding Universal Value(OUV)information accordingly by the end of 2022.The EU Court of Justice issues a historic con-demnation against Spain for the destruction of DoanaThe Cour
244、t of Justice of the European Union has ruled in favour of WWF,finding that the administrative bodies responsible for the care of Doana are in breach of European laws(Water and Habitats Directives),allowing“disproportionate extraction of groundwater”in the Doana Natural Area,which is seriously damagi
245、ng the biodiversity of this unique natural site,permitting the overexploitation of water and,consequently,the continu-ous deterioration of its natural values.This legal process was initiated ten years ago following a com-plaint lodged with the European Commission(EC)by WWF,confirming the repeated da
246、mning reports that our organiza-tion has been submitting for decades to all types of institutions,warning of serious environmental deterioration in Doana as a result of water theft,the impunity prevailing in the region and the inaction and lack of effective measures taken by the Junta de Andaluca(th
247、e regional government)and the central govern-ment to prevent this practice.The current situation in Doana is critical.Illegal irrigation in the Condado area has still not been shut down,and the irrigated area actually continues to grow every year;new pressures are appearing,such as the advance of in
248、tensive agriculture to the north of Doana,which is rapidly transforming the Aznalczar marshland by using all the water from the Guadiamar river;the lack of rainfall and sufficient surface water has meant that the northern marshes within the Doana National Park have been practically dry for the last
249、two years;the peridune lagoons of the natural area are continuously shrinking and becoming in-creasingly temporary;the deterioration of the aquifer,in terms of water quantity and quality,continues unabated;and further pressures on Doana are multiplying due to the evident impact of climate change.And
250、 if all these threats were not enough,the regional govern-ment,instead of eliminating the illegally irrigated hectares of strawberries,has established in 2014 in the“Special Plan for the management of irrigated areas located north of the forest crown of Doana”(hereafter Special Plan),intends to appr
251、ove in the Andalusian Parliament a law proposal to modify this plan in order to legalize around 1,500 ha.For WWF this is inadmissi-ble and a mockery of UNESCO and the European Commission as Spain has the commitment with both international organisa-tions to comply with this Special Plan and to close
252、all the illegal wells and farms.WWF demands that the central government and the Junta de Andaluca(Government of the Autonomous Region of An-dalusia)immediately live up to their responsibilities and com-petences in order to prevent further damage to Doana.The Junta de Andalucia,which is responsible f
253、or managing Doana,its agriculture and land management,must urgently close all 32 I.Natural Propertiesillegal farms,which cannot be regularized under any circum-stances.Similarly,it must restore the public forests occupied by illegal agriculture.It is therefore essential that there is sufficient poli
254、tical will and adequate resources to implement the Special Plan,which has been deliberately left to languish,without suf-ficient resources or staff.WWF would firstly like to highlight the need to create a Technical Office,with a fully dedicated Plan Coordinator and a working team to ensure the corre
255、ct imple-mentation of the measures.On the other hand,the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority,which depends on the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge,must immediately close all illegal ab-stractions that are stealing water from Doana.It must also ur-gently implement the m
256、easures planned for the Matalascaas abstractions and halt the hydraulic infrastructures to the north of Doana that are designed to favour the advance of intensive agriculture and which will lead to the irreversible transforma-tion of the valuable Aznalczar marshlands.WWF also considers it essential
257、to ensure that the new EU Re-covery,Transformation and Resilience Funds will not be used to finance new hydraulic infrastructures that will damage Doana under the pretext of helping it to recover.These funds should be used to implement a new large-scale hydrological restora-tion project for Doana,en
258、suring the arrival of the historical surface flows that use to flood the marshes through the Gua-diamar basin.The new Guadalquivir Water Management Plan will not solve Doanas problemsWWF warns that the future Guadalquivir Water Management Plan 2021-2027 does not ensure the conservation of Doa-nas wa
259、ter resources,as it allocates only 11%of the money for Doana to solving the problems of the rivers and aquifers that feed this wetland.After a decade with no wet years,Doana is experiencing a slow-motion drought,which has resulted in the parks marshes becoming parched.This situation will worsen in t
260、he coming years due to climate change,according to the warnings of this weeks new IPCC report.On top of this,the expansion of illegal soft fruit cultivation,as well as the theft and overexploitation of water,are endangering the water resources of Europes largest wetland.Half of the surface watercour
261、ses and almost 60%of the aquifers that supply water to Doana do not meet Euro-pean standards,according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.The draft Guadalquivir Water Management Plan does not re-spond to the needs of Doana,it does not comply with the July 2021 recommendations made
262、by UNESCO for this natural area,nor does it propose all the measures necessary to comply with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union.In WWFs view,this draft does not address the measures needed to remove the pressures that are threatening the health of the marshes and their associa
263、ted ecosystems.The poor state of Doanas rivers and aquifer is not a new problem;in fact,the water plan in force already highlighted these issues,but the actions included in its Program of Meas-ures some of which appear again in the draft of this future Plan have not been sufficient to remedy this si
264、tuation and to ensure the recovery of Doana.The Doana Biological Station highlights the poor state of Doanas watersThis year,the Doana Biological Station(EBD-CSIC)has pub-lished the doctoral thesis of researcher Irene Paredes,which involves a study into the spatio-temporal variation of nutrient conc
265、entrations(nitrogen and phosphorus)in the surface wa-ters of the Doana marshes and its main tributary streams.This research represents a major step forward in water qual-Fig.1:Alcal del Ro Dam on the Guadalqui-vir river.Photo:Juanjo Carmona/WWFI.Natural Properties 33ity management and the conservati
266、on of Doanas aquatic ecosystems.The conclusions indicate that the future evolution of the eu-trophication process in the Doana marsh and its catchment areas will continue to increase if adequate and urgent measures are not taken to reduce the impact of human pressures and competition for water resou
267、rces.According to the researcher,some stretches of the streams are too polluted for fish and other fauna to survive,and the marsh is currently functioning as a green filter to purify these waters.The Port of Seville is again trying to turn the estuary into a mere navigation channelThe Seville Port A
268、uthority(Autoridad Portuaria de Sevilla;APS)has presented a new project that could have serious conse-quences for the Guadalquivir estuary and Doana.For WWF,the project presented by the APS is,from its very title,misleading about the true nature of the project:“Navigation optimisation on Eurova E.60
269、.02”.What it calls“optimisation”is,in reality,an attempt to convert the Seville-Sanlcar de Bar-rameda section of the Guadalquivir estuary into a mere navi-gation channel,subordinating the rest of the human activities and natural processes that take place in it to the purposes of the APS.Once again,a
270、s in 1999 with the dredging project to deepen the channel,the APS is basing the project on its own needs and trying to adapt the river to these employing,for example,engineering works,dredging,and so on instead of using the natural processes of the river as a starting point and adapting to these.The
271、 sailing world will not adapt to the Port of Seville,instead the Port of Seville intends to adapt the Guadalquivir estuary to the sailing world,whatever the cost.In 1999,it tried to do so with a dredging project to deepen the channel and work to eliminate“turns”(bends)in the river.As alternatives fo
272、r pre-venting erosion,it is now presenting engineering measures such as dams,longitudinal dykes,groynes and chevrons,which would entail a significant transformation of the physical envi-ronment and have potentially negative effects on the ecosys-tem;it also intends to install anchoring structures,es
273、tablish ar-eas that will improve the overtaking and crossing of ships so as to increase the areas of parallel navigation along the entire river by increasing the width of the navigation channel;and at the same time,it intends to continue dredging the river,among other proposed actions.WWF has asked
274、the Spanish government to reject this project,as it does not comply with Spanish and European regulations,while WWF will continue working towards the development of a 2030 green plan for the Guadalquivir Estuary that promotes a change in its management towards sustainability,fostering its resilience
275、 to climate change,the resolution of conflict between uses and an economic and social model oriented to the long term and based on ecosystem services.Fig.2:Ship sailing on the Guadalquivir river.Photo:JorgeSierra/WWF34 I.Natural PropertiesWill a Waste Incinerator Threaten the Jurassic Coast?Anne Mor
276、riss“The Dorset and East Devon Coast has an outstanding combi-nation of globally significant geological and geomorphological features.The property comprises eight sections along 155 km of largely undeveloped coast.The propertys geology displays approximately 185 million years of the Earths history,i
277、ncluding a number of internationally important fossil localities.The prop-erty also contains a range of outstanding examples of coastal geomorphological features,landforms and processes,and is re-nowned for its contribution to earth science investigations for over 300 years,helping to foster major c
278、ontributions to many aspects of geology,palaeontology and geomorphology.This coast is considered by geologists and geomorphologists to be one of the most significant teaching and research sites in the world.”“The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon coast pro-vide an almost continuous seq
279、uence of rock formations span-ning the Mesozoic Era,or some 185 million years of the earths history.The areas important fossil sites and classic coastal ge-omorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.”1 The Proposed Portland Incinerator A company called P
280、owerfuel Portland Ltd.was formed in 2019 by two men,neither of them local to Weymouth or Portland,for the purpose of building a huge“ERF”,otherwise known as a waste incinerator,on the north-east coast of the Isle of Portland.The chosen site is on land owned by Portland Port,who support the scheme.Ab
281、out 2.3 hectares in size,it is sit-uated right by the sea on Balaclava Bay.To the West,it bor-ders directly onto the steep slope of the Verne Citadel and onto land designated internationally,nationally and locally as being of special ecological importance.The removal of so much stone anchored direct
282、ly into the seabed would cause irreparable dam-age and add to continuing climate change on and around the isle,all along the coast.The Isle of Portland itself is a dead end,far removed from waste treatment centres,the nearest of which is at Wimborne.It is 1 Statement of Outstanding Universal Value,h
283、ttps:/whc.unesco.org/en/list/1029reached by a single road across a causeway which runs through further areas of great ecological importance for flora,fauna and geological features,including Portland Harbour,itself a Sensitive Marine Area.This road is prone to flooding during rainy seasons,which mean
284、s emergency vehicles would not be able to reach the plant in case of fire or other potential disas-ters.There is also no plan in place for the safe removal of waste and ash;these would both need to be very carefully dealt with to avoid them ending up in the water and the waste ending up along the lo
285、ng shore.The plans also do not state there would be a system in place to monitor the burner,24 hours a day,seven days a week,and there is no statement about contin-gency plans in case of fire or other disasters.According to the National Fire Chiefs Council,there are over 300 incinerator fires a year
286、 in England,causing tremendous amounts of pollution.A critical feature of the chosen site is its position in the lee of a steep hill,which would make this the only incinerator in the world backed by solid rock,causing further issues with the stacks polluting smoke“bouncing”off that rock.This means t
287、hat the emissions from the chimney stack,as well as the stack itself,will exit at 90 metres above sea level and will be visible for many miles around the Jurassic Coast.The facility itself is enormous,201 m long,54 m wide,47 m high,with a stack of 90 m high and 250 m plume(average).It will vent not
288、only directly onto rare and precious limestone grasslands but also Fig.1:View of the Jurassic Coast with the Durdle Door landmark.Photo:Mark SimonsI.Natural Properties 35onto housing on the slopes of the Verne,and at The Grove,as well as HM Prison The Verne.The close proximity of human res-idents,so
289、me as close as 500 metres,is also an unusual feature of the chosen site.The heavy metals exiting the chimney and other polluting substances would also do serious damage to the important and unique rock formations along the coastline.Portlands unique weather conditions,location and being com-pletely
290、surrounded by the sea mean eddying and turbulence caused by the steep cliffs of the Isle will result in conditions that are not discussed by the model predictions claimed by this“company.”Because records are kept regarding the capture of smoke coming out of the stacks of cruise ships that visit this
291、 coast,this phenomenon is well documented.All of the pollut-ants that would be produced by an incinerator are extremely damaging to the environment,to include the coastal beds that house precious fossils and other geological features.Portland is also prone to extreme flooding,which impacts the abili
292、ty to get on and off the isle and carries with it debris that pollutes and impedes access to large parts of the WHS.The Dorset Council,who will make the final decision about planning permissions,have turned this proposal down once and the company reapplied;no date has been agreed upon as to when the
293、y will vote again.Meanwhile,the two compa-nies which propose to fund the building of an incinerator on Portland are not British,they are Japanese and Dutch,which means they are not going to be local to iron out the issues,and there is no word of just who would run such a big facility which requires
294、specialist knowl-Fig.2:Part of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Herit-age property and the location of the planned waste incinera-tor at the Portland Port.Map:Terence ORourke Ltd./Pow-erfuel Portland Ltd.Fig.3:Aerial view of Portland Isle from the North.The site of the planned waste incinerator
295、 is indicated by a red trian-gle.Photo/Graphic:BBC 36 I.Natural Propertiesedge of how they work.The UK is now in a position it has never experienced before;there are more jobs available than unemployed people to take those up.There has been no men-tion of where the workers necessary to run such an i
296、ncinerator are going to be found.“The development location means the stack in particular(and the continuous plume),will be widely visible in the landscape,and might in the future deter visitors to Portland due to a less natural visual offer,perceived reduction in air quality and/or traffic-related i
297、mpacts,such as increased congestion.”Dorset Wildlife Trust There is no stated source for the enormous amounts of waste needed to make fuel,and the company insists there be no re-strictions on those sources.The entire Jurassic Coast does not produce enough waste to run one plant,which means there wou
298、ld have to be 160 trucks seven days a week,all year long,going to and from with something that is referred to as“world waste”meaning much more pollution going into the unique geology,doing irreparable damage to these natural structures.All of this will impact climate change,which in turn will impact
299、 the geology of the Jurassic Coast,not just Portland.Many thousands of tourists flock to this part of the WHS every year,but with the pollution in the water and the issues with access because of an industrial site of this magnitude being so obvious and so dirty,that is likely to be impacted,mean-ing
300、 a loss of visitors seeing this magnif-icent site and a loss to the community of over 209 million(US$250,8 million)per year,some of which goes to climate change projects like the Studland Bay project that has saved the sea horse pop-ulation found there.What about pollutants in the chimney emissions?
301、Some of the pollutants in the emissions would need to be kept within the lev-els set out in the EU Industrial Emissions Directive(adopted into UK regulations).These levels have been agreed as in-dustrially acceptable but are in no way without harms to ecological health.Typ-ically,levels of acid gas
302、emissions and mi-cro-particle emissions from waste incin-erators are high;these include but are not limited to chromium,cadmium and mercury.In addition,the proposed plant would emit about 577 tonnes of Car-bon Dioxide every day.This all adds up to incinerators producing climate changing airborne and
303、 water borne heavy metals and other pollutants.The fumes emitted from the stack would be a visual disturbance for miles around,and the metals can do great damage to geological formations of the Jurassic Coastline.The Fleet LagoonBehind Chesil Beach lies a large saline lake known as the Fleet Lagoon,
304、one of the few remaining undisturbed brackish la-goons left in the world.The lagoon is home to the mute swan colony at Abbotsbury,the only place in the world where it is possible to walk through a nesting colony,and one of Dorsets most popular tourist attractions for its natural and dramatic views.D
305、esignated a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI),the Fleet Lagoon is also an important natural wildlife habitat for many species and an excellent spot to see little egrets,dark bel-lier brent geese and common greenshanks.This Chesil-based lagoon has a very delicate ecosystem;more pollution,more
306、 heavy metals,coming from an incinerator and heavy traffic Fig.4:Computer rendering of the smoke stack and emissions plume as it may affect Portland Isle.Illustration:Stop Portland Waste IncineratorFig.5:Computer model of the planned waste incinerator,as seen from Portland.Graphic:BBC Fig.6:A Short-
307、snouted seahorse.Photo:Russ ShearsI.Natural Properties 37would mean the end of its health and endanger the border of the wall of stone along its length.What is the business model for such a plant?Waste incineration plants are highly profitable.Waste authori-ties pay high fees to have their Refuse-de
308、rived Fuel incinerated,and the electricity thus generated is usually sold to the National Grid,generating further income(although the Powerfuel in-cinerator is aimed more at providing shore power to moored ships).Metals extracted in the process are also sold,as is the Incinerator Bottom Ash,but this
309、 process is very dirty and diffi-cult to control as far as what ends up in the atmosphere.Occa-sionally,the plant can also sell heat produced but often this is too difficult.The underground pipes to carry the heat to recipi-ents would be particularly difficult to install successfully around the site
310、 Powerfuel has chosen.The most recent information is that Powerfuel has identified no customer for the heat their plant would produce.The Climate IssueThe UK has adopted the International Framework Conven-tion on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement which are international law as much as the World
311、 Heritage Convention is.The WH Convention requires the governments of members do“all they can,”in order to protect their WH Sites.Incinerators contribute to cli-mate change by sending out enormous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere,thereby boosting climate change and with its detrimental effect on t
312、he World Heritage Site,not only does that go against the Paris Agreement,but it also is a direct attack on the WH Site.The emis-sions from the waste incinerator are bad for the climate,which is bad for World Heritage sites.Specifically,this incinera-tor and the road congestion caused by various acti
313、vities it requires to take in the waste it would burn,then turning that around and going off of Portland to re-move the ash created,means greater amounts of pollution in the form of heavy metals and other particulates go into the air which then falls into the sea and onto the land,meaning the long s
314、tone covered beach known as Chesil Beach,a world famous part of this World Heritage Site,would be under threat from those pollutants.Those stones are a unique feature to this site but are not immune from harm via chemicals and other waste,nor are the other stone features found all along the coast im
315、mune.Fig.7:The Abbotsbury fleet,with the Portland Isle in the background.Photo:wdlh.co.uk38 I.Natural PropertiesPlans for More Oil and Gas Extraction Put the Wadden Sea at RiskDeutsche UmwelthilfeThe Wadden Sea World Heritage Site(WHS)has long been un-der severe threat,and new fossil projects in Ger
316、many and the Netherlands now pose an existential danger to this unique site.Through the extraction of additional oil and gas,these projects will fuel the climate crisis,which will affect the coastline,the bi-odiversity of flora and fauna,and the maritime ecosystem as a whole in an unprecedented and
317、irrevocable way.The Wadden Sea WHS covers the Dutch Wadden Sea Conser-vation Area,the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony,Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein,and most of the Danish Wadden Sea maritime conservation area.The WHS was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2009,with ex-t
318、ensions in 2011 and 20141.The UNESCO World Heritage Com-mittee decided that the site met three of the criteria of out-standing universal value(OUV):criterion(viii)by virtue of the depositional coastline of unparalleled scale and diversity,crite-rion(ix)by virtue of some of the last remaining natural
319、 large-scale intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed and criterion(x)by virtue of the floral and faunal diversity.1 The OUV of the Wadden Sea WHS was already under threat well before the area was even declared a WHS:oil has been drilled on the German si
320、de since 1987.2 However,the WHS is now the target of a new shock-doctrine-like wave of fossil fuel projects,in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine:the fossil lobby has succeeded at making them look like a“nec-essary evil”in the name of“energy security”.Meanwhile,the International Energy Agen
321、cy(IEA)stated last year that no new fossil projects can be developed from 2021 onwards if the cru-cial climate target of keeping global warming below 1.5 C should be met,in line with the Paris Agreement,and thereby avoiding the extremely catastrophic,civilization-threatening consequences of global w
322、arming.3,4,5Fig.1:Shelducks on the Waddensea at low tide.Photo:Imke Zwoch/BUNDFig.2:Aerial view of the Mittelplate oil platform,inside the World Heritage.Photo:Ralf RoletschekI.Natural Properties 39On the German side of the WHS,a new oil drilling area with multiple wells starting from the existing p
323、latform“Mittelplate”and an extension of the existing drilling permit until 2069 were applied for in 2019(approval not yet granted,decision pend-ing).6 The Dutch government recently granted ONE-Dyas the license to drill until 2060 in a particular area 15 km away from the WHS,and the company is explor
324、ing potential additional gas fields nearby(see Fig.3).These fossil projects will drasti-cally affect all three OUV criteria,as will be explained in detail hereafter.1.GermanyOn the German side of the Wadden Sea WHS,in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein,the Wintershall Dea company has been drill
325、ing for crude oil since 1987.2 All the oil extraction takes place from the Mittelplate platform through extended-reach drilling.7 An exploration permit was originally granted in 1981 for the area“Heide Restflche”and was extended periodically from then on,with the current one being valid until the en
326、d of 2023.8 A production permit was also granted back then,in this case until 2041,for the area“Mittelplate I”,located within the aforementioned exploration area(see Fig.3).9 In 2019,Wintershall Dea applied for a new drilling permit(“NB1-0002-00”)for an area south of the current production area“Mitt
327、eplate I”(see Fig.4),also within the exploration area,while simultaneously requesting to extend the production per-mit for the whole oil reservoir until 2069.6 The responsible au-thorities have not reached a decision yet in terms of granting or denying the permit,according to the cur-rently limited
328、information at our disposal.However,the new coalition contract of the ruling parties in the region of Schleswig-Hol-stein explicitly supports the fossil project.10The new area would mean additional re-serves of up to 2 million tonnes of crude oil,11 the depth of the oil reservoir being some-where be
329、tween 2,000 and 3,000 m(Dog-ger beta reservoir).11,12 One well bore is ini-tially planned.Based on the knowledge that would be gained from that well,additional boreholes would be developed(two addi-tional wells are already being considered).Wintershall Dea indicated in its permit appli-cation that“t
330、he final number of wells cant be predicted”.6The new boreholes would be non-vertical,extended-reach ones,with a length of prob-ably up to 10 km,thereby“reaching the cur-rent limit of what is technically possible”,in the words of the Board of Trustees of the Wadden Sea National Park.11 Additionally,t
331、he platform itself is 36 years old,which in-creases the risk of an accident happening.13 In fact,the platform already needed an emer-gency intervention without an official per-mit back in 2007:there was an acute dest-abilization danger due to high levels of hy-drodynamic scour caused by drilling.14
332、With increasing sea levels and heavier storms to be expected due to the climate crisis,the risk will only increase further and further.The National Park Law of 1985 made an ex-emption for the oil drilling projects in the Mittelplate back then,explicitly allowing oil and gas extraction“only if the dr
333、illing takes Fig.3:Oil and gas fields that are in the production stage,in the drilling permit application stage,or in the ex-ploration stage in German and Dutch areas of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site.Map:Deutsche UmwelthilfeFig.4:Potential oil production field of Wintershall Dea corresponding to the drilling permit appli-cation“NB1-0002-00”from 2019,located in the German part of the Wadden Se