Suldaanka Posted June 8, 2007 Interview with Dr Gaetano Palumbo of the World Monuments Fund (WMF) Dr Palumbo is the World Monuments Fund, Director of archaeological conservation: Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. He was a speaker at the Press conference organised yesterday in Paris, France by Somaliland Heritage, a France based association. On the sideline of the Press conference, I spoke with him and began by asking him about the history of the World Monuments Fund (WMF). His response: the World Monument Fund was founded in 1965 in the United States and since then, she has achieved an unmatched record of successful conservation of Monuments in more than 90 countries. Our headquarters is in New York, but we have offices and affiliate organisations in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal. What is the World Monuments Fund’s Watch List all about? Dr Palumbo: the Watch List was launched in 1995 as the World Monument’s flagship advocacy programme for the WMF. The Watch list is one of our organisation’s most effective tools. It is issued every two years and acts as a potent call to action on behalf of structures in urgent need of immediate help. How do you get informed about structures or historic and prehistoric sites and their need for help? Dr Palumbo: we get informed through locals or the governments of some countries and some times, through foreigners who have visited a part of the world and were attracted by a particular structure or historic site or sites. They send us information via the internet and we try to send our specialists on the field and after which, a committee of experts is gathered for thorough examinations, to find out what steps must be taken to help. The good thing is that, all appeals have always being for the preservation of extraordinary sites. What are the principal causes of the degradation and even destructions of Monuments around the World? Dr Palumbo: they are climate change, sadly always humans, especially through conflicts like that of Iraq or the Somali war, that has destroyed the only museum that was located in Somaliland and finally, the other factor which is also human induced, are pressures from economic development. This has been noticed principally in China and India and also in Latin America. But far less in Africa, however, with the gradual pick up of African economies, it is evident that what has occurred in most developing countries and region earlier mentioned, will certainly happen in Africa. And that is exactly why the WMF intervenes. We would like Africans to be aware of the importance of the preservation of their historic and prehistoric sites and all other important structures. For it will help define things clearly especially the perception of the World toward African histories and traditions. And this is also why the Las Geel prehistoric site located in Somaliland holds all her importance. Can you reasonably say your organisation has succeeded in raising awareness on the importance of Monuments? Dr Palumbo: Oh yes. The shining example is Africa. On our Watch list, African sites, have recorded a leap. Note worthy is the increase presence of sub-Saharan awareness, hence many of their historic and prehistoric sites are present on our Top 100 most endangered Monument sites for 2008. The selected African countries and their historic sites are Algeria: the Medracen and el- Khroub sites and also the Numidian Royal Mausolea located in the city of Constantine, Burkina-Faso : Loropeni Ruins, Egypt: Aqsunqur Mosque ( Blue Mosque) in Cairo, Shunet el Zabib in Abydos and the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor, Eritrea: Derbush Tomb in the city of Massawa, Ethiopia: Mohammadali House in Addis Ababa, Ghana: Wa Naa’s Palace in Wa, Libya: Wadi Mathendous Rock arts in Fezzan, Madagascar: Fianarantsoa old city, Mauritania: Chinguetti mosque, Morocco: Al-Azhar Mosque in the city of Fez, Nigeria: Ikom Monoliths of Cross River state, Senegal: Saint Louis Island, Sierra Leon: Freetown Historic Monuments, Somaliland: Las Geel Rock Art, Tanzania: Kilwa Historic sites and Zimbabwe: Bumbusi National Monument in Matabeleland. Identifying and enlisting prehistoric sites on your Watch List is noble, but does your organisation provide any financial assistance? Let’s say for example, the Las Geel prehistoric site in Somaliland? Dr Palumbo: Oh yes. But Somaliland and in particular, the Las Geel prehistoric site, is new, and should they ( Somaliland Heritage and the Somaliland government) make any such request, it will be studied. However, we do help financially. And since 1996, the WMF has disbursed more than $ 47 million for 214 sites in 74 countries. Elie B. Smith: thank you very much for sparing us some of your precious time to inform us about your organisation. Dr Gaetano Palumbo: You are welcome. Web site of the World Monuments Fund: www.wmf.org. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AYOUB Posted June 8, 2007 Architectural, cultural gems imperilled JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press June 6, 2007 at 2:06 PM EDT NEW YORK — Rising seas, spreading deserts, intensifying weather and other harbingers of climate change are threatening cultural landmarks from Canada to Antarctica, the World Monuments Fund said Wednesday releasing its latest list of the world's most endangered sites. This year's list is the first to add global warming to a roster of forces that the organization says are threatening humanity's architectural and cultural heritage. Other factors include political conflict, pollution, development and tourism pressures, and a thirst for modernity in buildings and lifestyles. "On this list, man is indeed the real enemy," Bonnie Burnham, the president of the New York-based fund, said in a statement. "But, just as we caused the damage in the first place, we have the power to repair it." The U.S. list includes sites as diverse as historic Route 66, the fabled east-west highway flanked by eccentric, deteriorating attractions; the New York State Pavilion, a rusting remnant of the 1964 World's Fair in Queens; and the historic neighbourhoods of New Orleans, where the Monuments Fund pointed to the destruction done by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the potential for more damage from future storms and rising waters. Internet Links World Monuments Fund New Orleans is among at least six historic places with futures clouded by a changing climate, it said. The fund's "100 Most Endangered Sites" list, issued every two years, is intended as a cultural clarion call, and the organization suggests it has been a successful one. More than three-quarters of the places listed in previous years are no longer imperilled, according to the organization, which has given more than $47-million to help save some 214 sites since 1996. This year's list includes sites in 59 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The United States is home to more than any other country, with seven sites or types of sites — one entry is the "Main Street Modern"-style public buildings that symbolized progress after the Second World War. There are six sites each in Peru, and five each in India and Turkey. On Herschel Island, Canada, melting permafrost threatens ancient Inuit sites and a historic whaling town. In Chinguetti, Mauritania, the desert is encroaching on an ancient mosque. In Antarctica, a hut once used by British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott has survived almost a century of freezing conditions but is now in danger of being engulfed by increasingly heavy snows. Other sites face different perils. Political conflicts are clouding the future of Iraq's cultural heritage sites and the remains of two ancient, giant Buddha statues in Afghanistan's province of Bamiyan, in the monuments fund's view. The statues were destroyed by the Taliban regime in 2001, but there have been some efforts to restore them. Growth pressures are being felt in places such as Ireland's Hill of Tara, an earthen fort where Celtic chieftains jockeyed for power and legend says St. Patrick confronted paganism. A planned highway, intended to ease commuting between Dublin and a northwestern suburb, would pass near the hill. Other places, such as Peru's famed Machu Picchu, are considered threatened because of their own popularity. A new bridge recently opened to cater to backpackers headed to Machu Picchu, although government cultural experts said it could bring too many tourists to the delicate Inca ruins. A group of experts chose the sites on the World Monuments Fund list from hundreds of nominations, submitted by governments, conservationists and others. The selections were based on the sites' importance and the urgency of the dangers to them, the organization said. World Monuments Fund's 100 Most Endangered Sites The names appear as listed by the organization. AFGHANISTAN Buddhist Remains of Bamiyan Murad Khane, Kabul Tepe Narenj, Kabul ALGERIA Medracen and el-Khroub Numidian Royal Mausolea, Constantine ANTARCTICA Scott's Hut and the Explorers' Heritage of Antarctica, Ross Island ARGENTINA Brener Synagogue, Moises Ville ARMENIA Kumayri District, Alexandrapol AUSTRALIA Dampier Rock Art Complex, Burrup Peninsula AZERBAIJAN Khinalyg Village BANGLADESH Sonargaon-Panam City BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA Sarajevo City Hall BRAZIL Porangatu Historic District BULGARIA Novae Archaeological Site, Svishtov BURKINA FASO Loropeni Ruins CANADA Herschel Island, Yukon CHILE Montemar Institute of Marine Biology, Vina del Mar CHINA Modern Shanghai Xumishan Grottoes, Guyuan County CYPRUS Famagusta Walled City EGYPT Aqsunqur Mosque (Blue Mosque), Cairo Shunet el-Zebib, Abydos West Bank of the Nile, Luxor ERITREA Derbush Tomb, Massawa ETHIOPIA Mohammadali House, Addis Ababa FRANCE Epailly Chapel of the Order of the Temple, Courban GEORGIA Gelati Monastery and Academy, Kutaisi GHANA Wa Naas Palace, Wa GREECE Lesvos Historic Churches Pella Macedonian Tombs GUATEMALA Capitanes Generales Palace, Antiqua Guatemala Ceibal Archaeological Site, Sayaxche INDIA Amber Town, Rajasthan Chettinad, Chennai Jantar Mantar, Jaipur Leh Old Town, Ladakh Srinigar Heritage Zone INDONESIA Kotagede Heritage District IRAQ Cultural Heritage Sites of Iraq IRELAND Tara Hill Vernon Mount, Cork ITALY Transhumance Cultural Landscape, Molise Region Farnese Nymphaeum, Rome Fenestrelle Fortress, Turin Viscontian Bridge-Dam, Valleggio sul Mincio JAMAICA Falmouth Historic Town JORDAN Khirbet et-Tannur, Tafilah Qusayr Amra, al-Azraq JORDAN/ISRAEL Jordan River Cultural Landscape LIBYA Wadi Mathendous Rock Art, Fezzan MACEDONIA Mother of God Peribleptos Church, Ohrid MADAGASCAR Fianarantsoa Old City MALTA Fort St. Elmo, Valletta MAURITANIA Chinguetti Mosque MEXICO Huaca Historic Neighborhood, Veracruz Chihuahua Missions Monte Alban Archaeological Site, Oaxaca Teuchtitlan-Guachimontones Archaeological Zone MOROCCO Al-Azhar Mosque, Fez NIGERIA Ikom Monoliths of Cross River State PAKISTAN Shikarpoor Historic City Center PALESTINIAN Territories Church of the Holy Nativity, Bethlehem PERU Laraos Terraces Lima Historic City Center Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary Macusani-Corani Rock Art San Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas Church Santa Catalina Monastery, Arequipa RUSSIA Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign Church, Teplovo Mendeleev Tower, St. Petersburg St. Petersburg Historic Skyline SENEGAL Saint Louis Island SIERRA LEONE Freetown Historic Monuments SLOVAKIA BanskDa Stiavnica Calvary Complex SOMALILAND Las Geel Rock Art SPAIN Joan MirDo Foundation, Barcelona SRI LANKA Kandy Sacred City SWEDEN Ljungberg Hall, Borlange City SYRIA Cyrrhus (Nebi Houri), Azaz Old Damascus TANZANIA Kilwa Historic Sites TURKEY ECukur Han, Ankara Hasankeyf Istanbul Historic Walls Meryem Ana (Mother of God) Church, GJoreme, Cappadocia Red Church, GJuzelyurt, Sivrihisar, Cappadocia UKRAINE Pidhirtsi Castle UNITED KINGDOM Mavisbank House, Midlothian, Scotland Richhill House, Armagh City, Northern Ireland St. Peters College, Cardross, Scotland Wiltons Music Hall, London UNITED STATES Florida Southern Historic Campus, Lakeland, Fla. Historic Neighborhoods of New Orleans, La. Historic Route 66 Main Street Modern New York State Pavilion, Queens, N.Y. Salk Institute, San Diego, Calif. Tutuveni Petroglyph Site, Hopi Tribal Land, Ariz. UZBEKISTAN Ayaz Kala, Ellikala Madrasa Rashid, Bukhara ZIMBABWE Bumbusi National Monument, Matabeleland Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted June 9, 2007 SOMALILAND Las Geel Rock Art :cool: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted June 10, 2007 very cool indeed ,,,,,,,,,,, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
