New Orleans on endangered list

06/10/2005 20:55 - (SA)

New York - The World Monument Fund (WMF) announced on Thursday that it was adding New Orleans and the rest of the hurricane-devastated US Gulf Coast to its list of the world's 100 most endangered sites.

"We recognise that heritage preservation is a secondary concern as extraordinary humanitarian relief efforts continue throughout the Gulf Coast region," said WMF president Bonnie Burnham.

"But we also know from experience that there are things we can do now to prevent further loss later on," Burnham said.

Founded in 1965, the New York-based WMF uses an international panel of experts to draw up its biennial list, which aims to raise funds for preserving some of the world's most imperilled architectural and cultural sites.

The Gulf Coast and New Orleans will be the 101st site named in the latest list which was published in June.

The only other time the WMF has added to its list was after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre, when an historic section of Lower Manhattan was appended.

The WMF also announced it was teaming with the US national trust for historic preservation to advocate for restoration and sensitive reconstruction measures that respect the rich historic and cultural assets of the region hit by Hurricane Katrina at the end of August.

National trust president Richard Moe warned that the destruction wrought by Katrina had the potential to be the "greatest cultural catastrophe" in US history.

"The goal of recovery should be to allow residents to come back home to healthy, vibrant, liveable places that retain the heritage that makes them unique," Moe said.


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