Mali’s Old Towns of Djenné on List of World Heritage in Danger

Istanbul, Turkey, 13 July—The World Heritage Committee has added the Old Towns of Djennéthe List of World Heritage in Danger due to insecurity, which is affecting the area and preventing the implementation of protective measures for the Malian World Heritage site.

The Committee has expressed concern over the property, which is situated in an area affected by insecurity. This situation is preventing safeguarding measures from addressing issues that include the deterioration of construction materials in the historic town, urbanization, and the erosion of the archaeological site. The Committee also appealed to the international community to support Mali in efforts to ensure the protection of the site.

Inhabited since 250 B.C., the Od Towns of Djenné became a market centre and an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it was one of the centres for the propagation of Islam. Its traditional houses, of which nearly 2,000 have survived, are built on hillocks (toguere) as protection from the seasonal floods.

The site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988.

The World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.

The 40^th session of the World Heritage Committee began on 10 July and will continue until 20 July. It is chaired by Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lale Ülker.

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