In an upcoming Committee Meeting, UNESCO will consider whether Venice, Italy, will be included on their World Heritage Danger list.
The World Heritage Committee Meeting will take place in Fuzhou, China, on July 16-31. UNESCO has drafted a recommendation that Venice be included on their Danger list.
It states that: “the continued deteriorating effects of human intervention, combined with climate change on the vulnerable lagoon ecosystem, threaten to result in irreversible change.”
Mass tourism is a direct and significant threat to the city of Venice.
Nevertheless, the Italian government is considering how to encourage tourism after 15 months without international travel.
It is estimated that tourism brings into Venice over 3 billion euros (4.7 billion AUD) each year, with up to 25 million tourists visiting annually.
Yet, the incredible amounts of tourism contribute detrimentally to Venice’s rapid sinking, flooding and deterioration. Venice is built upon multiple islands which sit in the shallow Venetian lagoon.
Over time, the saltwater erodes the clay bricks upon which the buildings and city is built, causing them to crumble and let in greater amounts of water.
Combined with the rising sea levels brought on by global warming, Venice is under serious threat of sinking completely.
A major source of harm to the delicate foundations of the islands is cruise ships. Environmental activists claim that as cruise ships pass through Venice, the movement of water crushes the underwater foundations of the city, and erodes the canal floor.
SINKING Matthias Braun 2020 90 x 70 cm painting of venice, golden picture frame #matthiasbraun #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #sinking #venice #minimalart #conceptualart #minimalism #climatechange #kunstinstallation #globalwarming #artinstallation #sealevel #co2 #untergang pic.twitter.com/dBgthgEKdK
— matthias braun (@matthias_braun) May 22, 2020
Earlier this year, the Italian government made a pledge to remove cruise ships as tourists are welcomed back into the city after COVID-19.
However, in June Venice saw its first cruise ship since the virus. The outrage of residents has further fuelled mistrust and frustration with the Italian government.
UNESCO acknowledged the lack of appropriate governmental action in their draft recommendation:
“The resolution to these long-standing problems is hindered by a lack of overall vision and low efficiency of the integrated coordinated management on all stakeholder levels. These factors warrant the inscription of the property on the list of World Heritage in Danger.”
Hopefully, UNESCO’s discussion next month of whether to place Venice on the Danger list will encourage necessary action from the Italian government, to strive for more sustainable tourism.
“support” by lorenzo quinn – a sculpture made as a stark warning on the impact of rising sea levels in venice, italy pic.twitter.com/TdpN6izY69
— jana✿ (@yohjiyamamotoes) July 27, 2020
