Unesco debates if Lake Turkana should be added to danger list

Delegates at the annual UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting that started on Sunday will debate adding Kenya’s Lake Turkana to sites considered to be “in danger”.

The salty Lake Turkana is a crucial stopover for migratory birds and a breeding zone for crocodiles, hippos and snakes, but is at risk due to the construction of the Gibe III Dam for hydro-power production on a tributary in the neighbouring Ethiopia, which threatens to dry up the lake.

Already, experts say that water levels in the lake have dropped, threatening the livelihoods of fishermen and Turkana residents.

An attempt by Kenya to have the lake put in the danger list came to naught after the request was rejected.

The World Heritage Committee will also consider a roster of contenders from across the globe to be added to the World Heritage Site list. They include the the Aasivissuit and Nipisat hunting grounds in the frozen expanses of Greenland to the sun-scorched Al-Ahsa Oasis in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

Inuit hunting grounds, World War I cemeteries, Art Deco heritage in Mumbai and Italy's wine-producing Prosecco hills are among 30 hopefuls in the running to join UNESCO's famous list as the World Heritage Committee meets from 24th June to 4th July in Bahrain. In India, a collection of Victorian and Art Deco landmarks in bustling Mumbai is being billed as "the largest such conglomeration of these two genres of architecture in the world".

The push to include funeral and memorial sites in Belgium and France for those killed on World War I's Western Front has sparked debate over how to treat locations associated with recent conflicts. In an April report, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises UNESCO, called for a further "period of reflection", despite locations including Hiroshima and Auschwitz already being on the list.

Getting on the World Heritage List could be a major boon for the nominees, as being deemed of "outstanding universal value" can boost tourist numbers and bring in funding. But the committee also considers whether to remove locations from the list that do not do enough to protect their heritage — although such moves are rare.

Apart from Lake Turkana, some major natural wonders that could also be placed on the danger list at the Manama meeting, include Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley.

The gathering comes at a sensitive time for UNESCO, as the global body's education, science and culture organisation scrambles for funding following the withdrawal by the United States last year.