Historic docklands and buildings in the UK city of Liverpool
have been removed from the UN cultural body UNESCO’s list of World Heritage
sites, it announced on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the body decided to delete the
property due to the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding
universal value of the property.
The move follows concerns raised in 2012 about the proposed
development of disused dockland near the city center, which a UNESCO committee
decided were “detrimental to the site’s authenticity and integrity”.
New additions to the city’s waterfront include the proposed
Everton Football Club stadium, which is due to open for the 2024-25 season.
Liverpool was added to World Heritage List in 2004 in
recognition of its role as one of the world’s major trading centers in the 18th
and 19th centuries – and its pioneering dock technology, transport systems, and
port management.
Media reports have indicated that Liverpool city leaders are
dismayed and disappointed by the news and may consider lodging an appeal.
Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City is only the third
location to lose its World Heritage status after the decision was announced by
the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at a virtual conference in China.
The first venue to be delisted by the UNESCO panel was the
Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman, in 2007, after concerns over poaching and
habitat degradation.
Second to be removed from the World Heritage list in 2009
was Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany, after the construction of the
Waldschlosschen road bridge across the Elbe river.
The UN body began compiling its list of World Heritage sites
in 1972, naming 12 initially.
These included Yellowstone National Park in the United
States and Ethiopia’s cave churches at Lalibela.
Today there are more than 1,100 listed sites in 167 Member
States from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
Recent additions include Te Wahipounamu park in South West
New Zealand, which is home to the kea, the only alpine parrot in the world, and
the rare and endangered takahe, a large flightless bird.
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