As many as 73% of all non-marine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including in India, are exposed to at least one severe water risk (water stress, drought, river or coastal flooding), with 21% of them facing dual problems of having too much water one year, and too little during another, a new analysis shows.
The analysis based on World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct data (also a water risk atlas) said sites experiencing severe risks in India included the Taj Mahal, Kaziranga National Park, Western Ghats, Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, and the Great Living Chola Temples.
Around 40% of the UNESCO sites faced issues related to water stress and drought, and 33% and 4% riverine flood and coastal flood risks. “Water is impacting some of the Earth’s most cherished places: The Taj Mahal, for example, faces water scarcity that is increasing pollution and depleting groundwater, both of which are damaging the mausoleum. In 2022, a massive flood closed down all of Yellowstone National Park and cost over $20 million in infrastructure repairs to reopen. Water issues — whether it’s drought, scarcity, pollution, or flooding — have become a threat to many of the more than 1,200 UNESCO World Heritage Sites,” the analysis said.
The global share of World Heritage Sites exposed to high-to-extremely high levels of water stress is projected to rise from 40% to 44% by 2050. The impacts will be far more severe in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa, parts of South Asia, and northern China, where existing water stress is exacerbated by extensive river regulation, damming, and upstream water withdrawals.
{{/usCountry}}The global share of World Heritage Sites exposed to high-to-extremely high levels of water stress is projected to rise from 40% to 44% by 2050. The impacts will be far more severe in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa, parts of South Asia, and northern China, where existing water stress is exacerbated by extensive river regulation, damming, and upstream water withdrawals.
{{/usCountry}}In these regions, the combined pressures of infrastructure development and climate change pose a significant threat to both natural ecosystems and the cultural heritage they sustain, the analysis said. Places ranging from the biodiversity-rich Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, to cultural treasures like the sacred city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico, to bustling urban centers like Morocco’s Medina of Fez are facing growing water risks.
The Ahwar of Southern Iraq is facing acute water stress. In 2016, UNESCO added the Ahwar to the World Heritage list as a mixed site recognised for both its natural values and cultural legacy. It is one of approximately 470 UNESCO World Heritage Sites facing water scarcity due to issues like pollution and competition for its water resources.
Fed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the Ahwar is among the largest inland delta systems on Earth. These sprawling marshes are teeming with life that includes millions of migratory birds like the rare Basra Reed Warbler and large wild buffalo that wade through their reed beds.
Over the years, upstream dam construction, agricultural water use, and periods of political instability, including significant drainage of the marshes in the 1990s, have reduced the freshwater flowing into the region. As a result, the area remains highly vulnerable during times of drought, the analysis said.