Venice may be listed in the Endangered The World Heritage List, and also be given a "yellow card" by the United Nations in the Endangered The World Heritage List | Venice

According to foreign media reports, on July 31, UNESCO again recommended that Venice and its lagoon be included in the endangered The World Heritage List list, arguing that Italy had not done enough to protect Venice from climate change and excessive tourism. This is not the first time Venice has been given an ultimatum. What challenges is this renowned "water city" facing?

Or be blacklisted

On July 31st, UNESCO issued a statement stating that Venice is facing a series of "irreversible" damages, with cities and buildings being destroyed. This is caused by a series of human intervention issues, including the sustained development of Venice, climate change, and excessive tourism.

The organization also stated that the Italian government has made little significant progress in addressing these issues, "lacking a comprehensive and holistic strategic vision", and "low efficiency in comprehensive coordination and management" further hindering progress.

A spokesperson for the Venetian city government told Reuters that Venice will carefully read the recommendations of UNESCO and discuss them with the Italian government.

It is reported that the 45th World Heritage Conference will be held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in September this year, and whether Venice will be included in the "blacklist" of World Heritage sites will be reviewed.

According to Reuters, experts from the UNESCO Heritage Center regularly review the status of 1157 World Heritage sites. Prior to this year's World Heritage Conference, experts from the organization also listed nearly 10 other World Heritage sites on the endangered list, including the Ukrainian city of Odessa, Timbuktu in Mali, and multiple World Heritage sites located in Syria, Iraq, and Libya.

Received multiple yellow cards

For the Italian government, adding Venice to the World Heritage blacklist would undoubtedly be a huge blow.

It is understood that almost every year, the World Heritage Conference will pass the review and list some of the heritage sites on the The World Heritage List as endangered. This means that these world heritage sites have been given a yellow card, with the aim of making the international community aware of the threats they face and encouraging the adoption of restoration measures.

If the status of World Heritage sites that have been blacklisted improves, the label of "endangered" can be removed. But if the situation does not improve, one may also face the fate of being expelled. Previously, the Arab antelope sanctuary in Oman and the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany had both been stripped of their World Heritage status.

Venice, which was included in the UNESCO The World Heritage List in 1987, has been given a yellow card for many times in recent years.

In 2021, UNESCO suggested that Venice and its lagoon be included in the endangered The World Heritage List. At that time, the Italian government quickly took action to ban large cruise ships from entering the Venetian Lagoon, in order to avoid being blacklisted at the last moment.

Afterwards, the Italian government also took multiple measures to protect Venice. In 2020, the Venice tidal barrier system was put into use. In 2021, Venice also planned to charge an entry fee of 11 euros for daily tourists to control the number of visitors, but it was later postponed due to opposition.

However, in the eyes of UNESCO, Italy's proposed solutions are still "insufficient and not detailed enough".

Facing challenges

Why is the renowned water city of Venice considered "endangered"?

On the one hand, Venice is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

In November 2019, Venice was hit by floods, causing damage to historical relics and buildings. In February of this year, Venice, the "water city", experienced severe drought, and even the most distinctive small boat, Gondola, could not pass through the canal normally.

On the other hand, Venice also faces the long-standing problem of excessive tourism. Excessive tourists, a constant flow of cruise ships, and urban expansion all pose a threat to Venice.

During the 2019 Venice Carnival, approximately 193000 people crowded into this historic city in just one day. From April to October 2019, 32000 tourists took cruise ships to Venice every day for tourism. During the peak tourist season in August, an additional 460000 tourists squeeze into Venice every day, making the small town even more chaotic.

According to CNN, cruise ships have caused serious damage to Venice's lagoon and waterway environment, with a large number of short-term tourists putting pressure on the city's overloaded infrastructure. The influx of short-term landlords such as Airbnb has pushed up rent and living costs, forcing many local residents to reluctantly leave.

The Guardian reported that after experiencing floods and epidemics, a large number of tourists have returned to Venice this year. However, various problems have driven away the residents of this city. Last summer, the population of Venice had dropped to below 50000, which made Venetians who still decided to stay worried that they would become "artifacts in museums.".