World Monuments Watch (WMW) released today, January 15, a list of 25 endangered sites in 2025, which includes Gaza’s cultural heritage, the Portuguese monastery’s terracotta warriors, the Qhapaq Ñan Inca road system, Maine’s historic lighthouse and the moon. The full text is attached at the end of this article.
Published every other year by the nonprofit, the Watch List is a nomination-based registry that raises awareness of threatened heritage sites around the world. Since its launch in 1996, 904 locations in 135 countries and Antarctica have been featured. For the first time, this year’s list includes locations from Angola, Zambia and beyond.
Specific threats to heritage discussed in this year’s list include human conflict, climate change, fast-paced urbanization, tourism, insufficient funding and resources, and limited local expertise and capacity. It’s worth noting that the WMF’s list is not necessarily comprehensive – for example, Sudan, where a bloody civil war has led to mass looting and destruction, and Artsakh, where the Azerbaijani regime is erasing Armenia’s cultural heritage, are not included in the 2025 list .
In Gaza, Israel’s ongoing military assault has been characterized as genocide by human rights groups and international officials, with the relentless bombardment of the area not only causing devastating casualties but also destroying lives. Mosques, markets, churches and historical buildings are all part of its history.
In the first six months of the Israeli attack, the army destroyed about 60 percent of Gaza’s cultural heritage and monuments, including the Bronze Age settlement of Ajur, the monastery of Saint Hilarion and a 13th-century palace. Converted into an archaeological museum. Although Israeli and Hamas negotiators reportedly approved a ceasefire today, Palestinians face a humanitarian crisis and an uncertain future.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, the quality of the Baroque clay sculptures in the Alcobaca Monastery, produced mainly by monks in the late 17th century, continued to deteriorate due to environmental changes. WMF said in its listing that training local artisans in the necessary conservation skills would not only help preserve these works; Reviving traditional ceramic craftsmanship.
Along the U.S. coast of Maine, the northeastern state’s remaining 66 historic lighthouses, 57 of which still assist navigation, face increasing risks from rising sea levels and worsening storm surges caused by climate change. risk. Last January, back-to-back storms caused an estimated $5.5 million in damage to the iconic offshore lighthouse. Historic sites along East Africa’s Swahili coast face similar threats, with local communities shouldering the sole responsibility of protecting the African, Arab and European cultural heritage that these places have preserved for centuries.
The Capac Andes highway system, which spans Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, is also on this year’s watch list. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 and home to hundreds of historical archaeological sites and cultural heritage, including petroglyphs, community centers, ceremonial sites and agricultural systems, this ancient network of roads is currently facing modern development and environmental The pressure of change.
For the first time, the WMF has listed a site outside Earth’s atmosphere: the Moon, which faces potential threats from future human activity as interest in commercial space travel continues to grow. Although historical sites on the moon remain well-preserved due to factors such as a lack of wind and flowing water, future lunar exploration and tourism by private companies could destroy these cultural heritage icons.
WMF President and CEO Bénédicte de Montlaur in a statement. She pointed to the hundreds of human artifacts that currently exist on the lunar surface, including cameras that filmed the televised moon landings and commemorative disks left by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
In addition to these relics, the moon also has more than 90 historical sites related to space exploration, such as Tranquility Base, the site of the first lunar landing, which contains more than 100 artifacts and the first human footprints on the lunar surface.
“The addition of the Moon is a reminder that protecting heritage on Earth and elsewhere requires proactive, collaborative solutions that anticipate emerging threats and set precedents for conservation in new contexts,” said DeMonlauer.
Here is the full list of sites included on this year’s World Monuments Watch List:
- Monastery in Drino Valley, Albania
- Namibe Film Studios, Angola
- Andean Highway System, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
- Maiji Mountain and Yungang Buddhist Grottoes, China
- Swahili Coast Ruins, Comoros, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania
- Sorbonne University Chapel, France
- Historic mining landscape in Serifos, Greece
- Historical water supply system in Bhuj, India
- Historic buildings in Musi river, India
- Japan’s Noto Peninsula Heritage
- Erdeni Buddhist Temple in Mongolia
- Jewish heritage in Deboudou, Morocco
- Chief Ojimien’s House, Nigeria
- Gaza historical urban texture, Palestine
- Farmland in Varuvaru, Peru
- Terracotta sculptures at the Monastery of Alcobaça, Portugal
- ruins of old belch, spain
- Tunis Medina Reservoir
- Türkiye’s historical city Antakya
- Teachers’ House in Kyiv, Ukraine
- Assembly room, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
- great trade routes, america
- Maine Historic Lighthouse
- Barotse Floodplain Cultural Landscape, Zambia
- moon
