On the outskirts of Cairo, the Sphinx lies kneeling at the foot of the pyramids. A mixture of lion and human, dug out of the sand in the eighteenth century. Now the mythical beast is weathering, and there is no doubt that humans have a role in this, according to Christopher Prescott. He is professor of archeology at the University of Oslo. – The sandstorms and windstorms increase in intensity, then there are periods that alternate between heavy rainfall and more intense heat. The Sphinx will not be recognizable to future generations, that’s how serious it is, says Prescott. It is not just the extreme weather that destroys one of the world’s most famous cultural treasures. The exhaust from the tourist buses that spew out daily and leaks from the sewers that seep into the underground and into the limestone also have a negative effect on the Sphinx, says Prescott. He believes it is urgent if we want to save our cultural heritage. – I think we will have to take some crisis measures to decide what is to be prioritized, what is important and what we have to realize is going to be lost. Queen Sonja spent a long time at the Sphinx when she visited the pyramids on the Giza plateau outside Cairo in 2006. Now it is feared that later generations will not have the same opportunity. Bryggen in Bergen, also known as Tyskebryggen and Hansabryggen, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Climate change threatens the colorful pier. Venice is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, with its narrow streets and many gondolas along the lagoon. Now it is no longer allowed for cruise ships to sail into the city’s lagoon. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living structure on the planet. So big that it is the only living thing that can be seen from space. Higher water temperatures threaten the coral reef. The Pyramids of Giza stand proudly on the outskirts of Egypt’s capital. They have stood there since around 2580-2560 BC. Extreme weather as a result of climate change threatens the world-famous pyramids. Climate summit takes up the fight The Pyramids in Egypt, the Bryggen in Bergen and several Norwegian fjords are all on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which contains more than 1,000 cultural sites and natural areas throughout the world. Riksantikvar Hanna Geiran believes there is reason to be concerned about cultural heritage. – When we see how climate change affects cultural monuments around the world, including in Norway, this is something we work a lot on. During the UN climate summit, COP27, the destruction of cultural heritage is part of the theme in the negotiations called “loss and damage”, the Ministry of Climate and the Environment states in an e-mail to news. There are many cities and natural areas in the world that are at risk, says Geiran. Riksantikvar Hanna Geiran is concerned about the world’s cultural heritage. Photo: Trond Isaksen – It is clear that there are monuments that we all know, for example Venice, which has had very large and frequent flooding events. And we look at The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where there is also great destruction because the water has become warmer. Unesco is present during the climate conference and is trying to find measures that can protect the world heritage. Geiran says that in Norway they are working to reduce the harmful effects of, for example, cruise tourism, similar to Venice. There they have decided that cruise ships cannot enter the lagoon. The same applies in Norway from and including 2026, whose ships run on the so-called blue smoke, i.e. diesel, says Geiran. The impact of climate change on cultural heritage is a priority area of effort for Norway, according to the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. – During COP27, Norway hopes that it will make progress in the work with funding and measures to prevent and deal with loss and damage, says State Secretary Aleksander Heen to news.
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Climate change threatens cultural treasures worldwide – news Culture and entertainment
