The Moon, Gaza, and Ukraine Among New Additions to the 2025 Monuments WatchSave this picture!Defense wall at the Erdene Zuu monastery at Karakorum, Mongolia. Image Chantal de Bruijne via ShutterstockThe World Monuments Fund (WMF) has announced its 2025 World Monuments Watch, highlighting 25 sites facing significant challenges. This biennial program, launched in 1996, aims to raise awareness and mobilize action for the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. The 2025 list includes diverse locations across five continents and, notably, the Moon, representing the need to protect artifacts from humanity's first lunar missions. The selection process involved over 200 nominations, revealing regional trends such as climate change impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa and urbanization challenges in Asia and the Pacific.Sites on the Watch illustrate the interconnectedness of heritage preservation and broader societal issues. The inclusion of sites impacted by conflict (Ukraine's Teacher's House, Gaza's Historic Urban Fabric, and Antakya, Trkiye) underscores the importance of heritage in community resilience and recovery. Sites vulnerable to climate change, such as the Swahili Coast and Maine's historic lighthouses, highlight the urgent need for adaptation strategies. Over-tourism at sites like China's Buddhist grottoes and under-tourism affecting Albania's Drino Valley monasteries demonstrate the varying challenges faced by cultural heritage in the tourism sector.The Moon's inclusion marks a first for the Watch, recognizing the need for international protocols to protect the historic artifacts left behind by the Apollo missions and future lunar activities. This underscores WMF's commitment to preserving heritage beyond Earth, acknowledging the universal significance of protecting our collective narrative, regardless of location. The WMF has already secured $2 million in funding for projects at these sites and will partner with Accor to support sustainable tourism initiatives. Related Article World Monuments Fund Announces Financing for New Projects to Safeguard Endangered Places Worldwide Over the next two years, the WMF will collaborate with local partners at each site to develop preservation strategies, including advocacy campaigns, research, and physical conservation efforts. The 2025 Watch serves as a call to action, bringing global attention to these important sites and encouraging international support for their preservation.Read on to discover the list of 25 endangered sites on the 2025 World Monuments Watch, along with descriptions provided by the jury.Monasteries of the Drino Valley, AlbaniaA constellation of Orthodox monasteries, once vital to Albania's social fabric, needs reinvestment after decades of abandonmentbut could be a model for sustainable tourism via preservation.Save this picture!Cinema Studio Namibe, AngolaFifty years after its construction was abruptly halted, this modernist cinema lies in a state of decay, but a community effort could breathe new life into an unfinished landmark.Qhapaq an, Andean Road System, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, PeruAn extraordinary pre-Hispanic road network is facing development pressure and environmental degradation, but local and international advocacy could achieve socially sustainable management.Save this picture!Buddhist Grottoes of Maijishan and Yungang, ChinaTwo breathtaking collections of rock-cut cave temples are feeling the impact of mass tourism, underscoring the need for innovative visitor management strategies.Save this picture!Swahili Coast Heritage Sites, Comoros, Kenya, Mozambique, TanzaniaEast Africa's distinctive heritage reflects centuries of African, Arab, and European cultural exchange, but storm surges and coastal erosion are threatening these sites and the communities that keep them alive.Save this picture!Chapel of the Sorbonne, FranceIn Paris's Latin Quarter, this jewel of French architecture at the Sorbonne has suffered decades of conservation issues that must be addressed before it can reopen after years of closure.Save this picture!Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, GreeceThe rising Cycladic beach destination of Serifos possesses an irreplaceable record of Greece's industrial past, but comprehensive protections and conservation are needed to prevent imminent loss.Save this picture!Bhuj Historic Water Systems, IndiaIngenious water management systems have fallen out of use in favor of modern infrastructurebut as India's water crisis deepens, revitalizing this heritage technology could foster resource security.Save this picture!Musi River Historic Buildings, IndiaHyderabad's Musi River corridor, rich in history, faces mounting challenges from pollutionbut as the city pursues its revitalization, heritage can provide a sense of continuity and other community benefits.Save this picture!Noto Peninsula Heritage Sites, JapanAfter a devastating earthquake in January 2024, restoring historic buildings in this hard-hit region can spur cultural, social, and economic recovery.Save this picture!Erdene Zuu Buddhist Monastery, MongoliaAddressing climate impacts at one of the few Buddhist sites to survive Mongolia's decades of anti-religious crackdowns can help train the country's future heritage experts.Save this picture!Jewish Heritage of Debdou, MoroccoIn Morocco's Atlas Mountains, documentation and advocacy are crucial for the survival of historic Jewish sites, which testify to an inspiring tradition of multi-faith respect and coexistence.Save this picture!Chief Ogiamien's House, NigeriaThis millennium-old earthen structure faces an uncertain future as critical maintenance skills are lost, highlighting the need to preserve local building traditions.Gaza Historic Urban Fabric, PalestineUnprecedented destruction of heritage sites has severed vital connections between the people of Gaza and its urban fabric.Save this picture!Waru Waru Agricultural Fields, PeruAn ancestral agricultural system offers a pathway to resilience and food security in the Lake Titicaca floodplains as local communities face climate change-induced droughts and migration.Save this picture!Terracotta Sculptures of Alcobaa Monastery, PortugalAs environmental changes damage traditional terracotta sculptures, training local artisans to conserve these baroque masterpieces can help revive a local art tradition.Save this picture!Ruins of Old Belchite, SpainConservation of a historic village left in ruins by the Spanish Civil War and neglected in the decades since can ensure that its remains endure as a site of memory and reconciliation.Save this picture!Water Reservoirs of the Tunis Medina, TunisiaPreserving traditional Tunisian water infrastructure, much of which has been forgotten or destroyed in favor of modern piping, can help the country weather increasingly severe droughts.Save this picture!Historic City of Antakya, TrkiyePreservation efforts in the ancient city of Antakya are desperately needed to address the devastation from the 2023 earthquakes and support the return of displaced residents.Save this picture!Kyiv Teacher's House, UkraineThe former legislative seat of a newly independent Ukraine, this national icon was severely damaged by a missile blast in 2022, highlighting war's impact on heritage and the power of preservation to catalyze healing.Save this picture!Belfast Assembly Rooms, Northern Ireland, United KingdomLocal advocates aim to repair and repurpose one of Belfast's oldest civic buildings, transforming it into a museum encouraging reflection on Northern Ireland's Troubles.Save this picture!The Great Trading Path, United StatesPreserving a historic trail can strengthen Indigenous links to ancestral lands, even as poor recognition of its significance and a need for more meaningful participation in decision-making leaves the site vulnerable.Historic Lighthouses of Maine, United StatesFacing rapidly intensifying coastal climate threats, Maine's historic lighthouses can catalyze the development of coastal adaptation strategies.Save this picture!Barotse Floodplain Cultural Landscape, ZambiaWestern Zambia is home to a remarkable landscape whose inhabitants have built their culture around seasonal river flooding, but erosion, droughts, and other climate effects are threatening these living traditions.Save this picture!The MoonAs a new era of space exploration dawns, international collaboration is required to protect the physical remnants of early Moon landings and preserve these enduring symbols of collective human achievement.Save this picture!Image gallerySee allShow lessAbout this authorCite: Maria-Cristina Florian. "The Moon, Gaza, and Ukraine Among New Additions to the 2025 Monuments Watch" 16 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025841/the-moon-gaza-and-ukraine-among-new-additions-to-the-2025-monuments-watch&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream