Venice not in peril, UN cultural body rules
The UN's cultural organisation said on Thursday it had stopped short of placing Venice, one of the world's top tourist destinations, on its world heritage in danger list. The Italian city has been in Unesco's sights because of mass tourism and rising water levels, but at its annual meeting in Riyadh the agency decided against a downgrade. "The Committee has taken the decision not to include Venice on the list of World Heritage in Danger," a Unesco source said. Italy's Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said it was "a great victory for Italy and for common sense". Venice is in danger from rising water levels, attributed to climate change, and excessive numbers of tourists, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Unesco 's Director of World Heritage, said ahead of the Riyadh meeting. Italian counter-measures had been deemed "insufficient", he said. And Thursday the committee "reiterated its concerns about the major challenges still to be met for the proper conservation of the site", citing mass tourism, development projects and climate change. "Further progress needs to be made," it said, and the city's state of conservation would be examined again "in the summer of 2024". "The protection of this World Heritage property must remain a priority for the entire international community," it added. The "in danger" qualification is the first step towards exclusion from the list that features 1,157 sites, of which 900 are cultural, 218 natural and 39 mixed. (AFP)