The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York–based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) and American Express to call upon every government in the world, preservation organizations, and other groups and individuals to nominate sites and monuments that are particularly endangered. At the same time, the nominators commit themselves to participate in a carefully planned preservation project.[1]
Selection process
Every two years, the program publishes a select list known as the Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites that is in urgent need of preservation funding and protection. The sites are chosen from these nominations by an independent panel of international experts, based on the significance of the site, the urgency of the problem, and the viability of the proposal for action.[1] WMF would then publicize their plight and help find the resources and expertise to carry out the preservation projects for the 100 sites on the Watch List.[1] The leverage from the listing also spurs government agencies and local donors to allocate funds and take an active role in protecting the cultural landmark,[2] in addition to grants directly coming from WMF and American Express.
2000 Watch List
The 2000 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was launched on 14 September 1999 by WMF President Bonnie Burnham.[2][3]
[World Monuments] Watch is a bold challenge to local and national authorities to step up to their responsibilities—and an appeal to the public to take immediate action—to save these irreplaceable sites that define the history and the humanity of the peoples of the world[…] Once these sites are lost, they are gone forever. They are the very definition of the word irreplaceable.
— Bonnie Burnham, WMF president, launch of 2000 Watch List[1]
List by country/territory
Tipasa in Algeria was an ancient Punictrading post conquered by Rome and turned into a strategic base for the conquest of the kingdoms of Mauritania.[4]Suchitoto is widely known throughout El Salvador for its church and for its cobblestone roads.Gartenreich Dessau-Worlitz, the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, is one of the first and largest English parks in Germany and continental Europe.The Kahal Shalom Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Greece today.[5]Citadel of Arbil.Uch in Pakistan is thought to be one of the Alexandrias founded by Alexander the Great.[6]Began in the 16th century, the Banffy Castle is considered to be Romania's most important Renaissance-style castle.[6]The settlement of Jodensavanne in Suriname was once the largest and only autonomous Jewish agrarian community in the New World.[6]Merv in Turkmenistan was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road. It is claimed that Merv was briefly the largest city in the world in the 12th century.[7]Saint Francis Church and Monastery in Manchester, England is believed to be one of the finest examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the world.[8]The Vietnamese site of My Son was the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence.[9]The discovery of objects from Europe and China shows that Zimbabwe's Khami was a major centre for trade over a long period of time.[10]
The following countries/territories have multiple sites entered on the 2000 Watch List, listed by the number of sites:
Number of sites
Country/Territory
7
Russia
5
India, Mexico and United States of America
4
China, Italy and Turkey
3
Cuba, Egypt and Peru
2
Brazil, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Nepal, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vietnam
Notes
^ A. Numbers list only meant as a guide on this article. No official reference numbers have been designated for the sites on the Watch List. ^ B. Names and spellings used for the sites were based on the official 2000 Watch List as published. ^ C. The references to the sites' locations and periods of construction were based on the official Watch List as published.