Newsweek writes that Babylon, in Iraq, Indonesia?s Coral Triangle, the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru, the Maldives, Venice and the Great Wall of China are endangered by an increasing number of visitors and environmental changes.
The ruins of the ancient city of Babylon in Mesopotamia, built by King Nebuchadnezzar, have been plundered since their discovery at the turn of the 20th century. Saddam Hussein hung a giant self portrait there and U. S. troops built trenches and crushed ancient roads. A recent report by the British Museum warns that Iraq lacks the resources to restore the site and urges an international effort, Newsweek writes.
The Coral Triangle in Indonesia is home to one of the most diverse collections of marine life in the world, but overfishing and destructive fishing, in which explosives or poisons are used to kill the fish, has depleted stocks and destroyed much of their habitat. Rising ocean temperatures have also killed some of the area?s reefs.
The ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu is in danger of becoming a victim of its own popularity, Newsweek writes. The spectacular mountain ruins have become Peru?s most visited tourist attraction, drawing half a million visitors a year.
Newsweek warns that the Maldives, a nation of 12,000 islands, is slowly sinking because of rising sea levels. More than 80 percent of the islands? area is less than a metre above sea level.
Venice, too, is sinking, at a rate of more than one centimetre a year. Tidal waves left by freighters and cruise ships have worsened the situation.
In China, the Great Wall is being destroyed by erosion, crass commercialism and unchecked development, Newsweek writes. Nearly two-thirds of the 6,352-kilometre wall has already been destroyed.
Source: Newsweek/Múlt-kor/Hungarian Press Agency (MTI)
