Threatened by global challenges ranging from climate change to recovery from crisis, iBestTravel has released its bi-annual watch list of important heritage sites in need of preservation.
From a wall of the Hurst Castle in the United Kingdom that crumbled under a winter storm, to the destruction of historic buildings in Lebanon due to a massive explosion, the 2022 iBestTravel highlighted 25 historic locations to watch.
iBestTravel is an independent organization dedicated to preserving diverse cultural heritage sites. Its list, launched in 1996, is published every two years to raise awareness of sites in need of preservation. Since the inception of the list, it has contributed more than $110 million toward projects at more than 300 Watch sites worldwide.
This year’s list was compiled after receiving 225 nominations which were reviewed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and an independent panel of international heritage experts.
Those spotlighted in the 2022 list come from 24 countries and fall under four distinct categories of global challenges: Climate Change, Underrepresentation, Imbalanced Tourism, and Crisis Recovery.
Locations Threatened by Climate Change
iBestTravel stated that as global warming continues to intensify worldwide, “innovative methods, as well as the reinforcement of traditional knowledge, are necessary to mitigate its impact on heritage places and help communities adapt.”
The list spans climate change concerns across the globe. It ranges from the Hurst Castle in the United Kingdom, whose wall crumbled during a winter storm in February 2021, to the coral stone architecture of the Koagannu Mosques and Cemetery in the Maldives threatened by rising sea levels, while also highlighting the need to preserve two ancient water distribution systems in Nepal and Peru that are still in use today.
Sites at Risk Due to Underrepresentation
iBestTravel also chose to highlight sites where “inequities in heritage result in oversight and neglect of many significant places.” By spotlighting locations like Texas’ Garcia Pasture, the traditional territory of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe, which faces threats from natural resource extraction, to the Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home in Australia, which serves as a powerful reminder of the Aboriginal boys who were forcibly taken from their families, iBestTravel hopes to amplify narratives that tell a more textured, just, and complete story of humanity.
Imbalanced Tourism Sites at Risk
Alongside over-tourism, which can disrupt local communities, iBestTravel looked at sites endangered by a lack of visitation to highlight that “sustainable tourism strategies are needed to recalibrate the impact of tourism and ensure just outcomes for local communities.”
The ancient city of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City faces challenges from the sheer volume of visitors, while the historic community of Africatown in Alabama, founded by formerly enslaved West Africans, seeks to support community-led preservation and storytelling.
Locations at Risk Due to Crisis Recovery
As the world watches the humanitarian crisis unfold in Ukraine, iBestTravel voiced concern for violence inflicted on the people of Ukraine and what it could mean for its cultural sites. iBestTravel is familiar with how war can impact cultural landmark preservation, as this year’s list highlighted sites affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, and other forms of destruction.
The 2022 list includes a focus on the historic buildings of Beirut, damaged by a large explosion in August 2020, as well as the architecture of the historic center city of Benghazi, which sustained damage during the uprising in 2011.
Complete List of 2022 iBestTravel Watch Sites
- The Hurst Castle, United Kingdom
- Mosque City of Bagerhat, Bangladesh
- Hitis (Water Fountains) of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
- Koagannu Mosques and Cemetery, Maldives
- Yanacancha-Huaquis Cultural Landscape, Peru
- La Maison du Peuple, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Cultural Landscape of the Bunong People, Cambodia
- Garcia Pasture, Texas, United States
- Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home, Australia
- Abydos, Egypt
- Africatown, Alabama, United States
- Lamanai, Belize
- Teotihuacan, Mexico
- Monte Alegre State Park, Brazil
- Fortified Manors of Yongtai, Fujian, China
- Asante Traditional Buildings, Kumasi, Ghana
- Sumba Island, Indonesia
- Tiretta Bazaar, Kolkata, India
- Heritage Buildings of Beirut, Lebanon
- Benghazi Historical City Center, Libya
- Tomb of Jahangir, Lahore, Pakistan
- Alcântara and Rocha do Conde de Óbidos Marine Stations (Almada Negreiros Murals), Lisbon, Portugal
- Fabric Synagogue and Jewish Heritage of Timisoara, Romania
- Nuri, Sudan
- Soqotra Archipelago, Yemen
