unesco is concerned about the poor conservation of the World Heritage-listed Golden Temple of Dambulla in Sri Lanka, which could be removed from the list if the government does not take appropriate action, Irina Bokova announced on 17 August.
The director of the international institution said she had discussed the issue of the site’s maintenance with local authorities during her four-day visit to the island this week. “The Sri Lankan government is obliged, by international treaty, to protect this cave temple which contains five shrines, many 2000-year-old murals and 157 Buddha statues,” Irina Bokova told reporters in Colombo.
The agreement signed between Unesco and Sri Lanka is “an international, legally binding document” that the country has signed
Irina Bokova, Director of Unesco
“A team of experts, who visited the site last year in central Sri Lanka, found it poorly maintained and warned that new construction had affected the value of its heritage,” she said. Before adding: “A Buddhist monk on the ground refuses to allow the government to take over the maintenance of the temple, but it is up to the Sri Lankan state to preserve the temple, located 200 km northeast of Colombo.”
“The agreement signed between Unesco and Sri Lanka is “an international, legally binding document” that the country has signed,” said the Director-General of Unesco. The Golden Temple of Dambulla is one of eight Sri Lankan Unesco World Heritage sites.
UN officials have raised concerns that the temple will be removed from the prestigious list unless measures are taken to preserve the frescoes and destroy the new buildings added by the monks.
Only two sites have already been removed from this list, which has existed since 1972 and includes cultural and natural sites: the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, a type of antelope, after Oman’s decision to reduce its area by 90% for an oil exploration project in 2007, and two years later the Elbe Valley in Dresden (Germany) due to a road bridge construction project.
