Words: Patrick
Tourism: the artery that fuels many of the cities, towns and countries we love, but also the sponge that drains life and culture from many of the most coveted and historic sites under the sun. Travelling is great for us, but not necessarily the land we tread.
And then there’s the immovable force of global warming. To escape the incessant rumblings from various factions the globe over – governments, leaders, eco-minded organisations and those with a tendency to snuggle up to trees – you’d have to be out of the 21st century loop. Like it or not, the threat is manifesting itself as the surgical botox of the earth, gradually taking away and altering chunks, rejigging the face we inhabit.
This ‘unequivocal and continuing rise in temperature’ poses serious problems. Long story short, ever since we humans began emitting fossil fuels in the 1700s, the Earth has degraded. As we kick on in industry, the world withers. More natural disasters, dirty air, Arctic like winters and the melting of polar ice caps and subsequent rise in water temperatures.
As tourism weighs down, detracts and forces changes, and the scalpel of climate change continues to cut and steal, we find ourselves facing a predicament: the loss of natural wonders and beauty spots. Here are 10 places that you need to visit, not before you die, but before they die…
VENICE
The romantic Italian city, dissected by charming canals, is in deep trouble – struggling to keep its head above water, in fact. The city is sinking at a rate of 2mm a year, which, when coupled with the increasing number of severe floods battering the city, results in the possibility that Venice could be uninhabitable by the end of the century.
CHOQUEQUIRAO
This ruined Inca city in south Peru is sentenced to take a bulk of the tourism weight off Machu Picchu, with plans for a cable car to be built to the site, reducing travel time from an arduous two-day hike to a monochromatic 15-minute ride. Due to start ferrying tourists next year, the result will be an increase from five visitors a day to 3,000.
GREAT BARRIER REEF
The world’s largest coral reef, covering more than 133,000 square miles (two and half times the size of England), is vanishing at a painfully fast rate. Steady erosion has plagued this revered site, with predictions suggesting that this utopia could be relegated to the history books within 100 years.
BURMA ISLANDS
The islands of Burma have recently opened up and are draped with possibly the most beautiful beaches in all of Asia. However, with more and more people hoping to sample these riches, now is the time to get your passport stamped, as before too long you may be jostling for position on the currently-pristine sands.
THE ALPS
Due to its relatively low altitude, this famous skiing range is a sitting duck for the bullish force of climate change. Around 3% of its glacial ice is melting every year and experts believe that as early as 2050 it could be gone.
MALDIVES
A honeymooners’ paradise, but with an average elevation of just five feet above sea level, the Maldives’ 1,190 islands form the lowest-lying country on Earth. With rising sea levels, it is feared that this incredible cluster could be completely engulfed by water within the next 100 years.
THE DEAD SEA
With a biblical and aesthetic charm, the Dead Sea has been a major tourist attraction for years. However, in the past five decades, due to the diversion of the River Jordan’s water by border countries, the lake has shrunk by a third and sunk some 80 feet.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
If ever there was a strong case to show the negative effects of climate change, this is it. Once home to more than 150 glaciers, Montana’s majestic national park now has fewer than 25. Predictions suggest that within 15 years this figure could shrink to zero.
ANTARTICA
Seemingly never out of the eco-headlines, this frozen continent is dwindling bit by bit due to rising temperatures causing the ice to thaw. Efforts are in place to reduce human impact and therefore travelling to this amazingly unique place is becoming harder by the year.
SEYCHELLES
Like the Maldives, the Seychelles is feeling the pinch when it comes to beach erosion. Rising waters are gradually claiming parts of the paradise, with the worst reports stating that within 50 to 100 years the entire archipelago could be submerged.
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