Venice may be added to a list of sites that have irreversible damage due to overtourism

• On Monday, UNESCO recommended that Venice be added to the organization's danger list.

• The list is made up of world heritage sites that are at risk of irreversible damage.

• Factors like overtourism and climate change have negatively impacted Venice.

On Monday, the UN's cultural organization UNESCO recommended that Venice, Italy, be added to the organization's list of world heritage in danger, AFP reported.

According to the organization, Venice is at risk of "irreversible" damage. Factors like climate change and mass tourism have negatively impacted the Italian canal city.

"Some of these long-standing issues have already led to the deterioration of the inherent characteristics of the property and its attributes," UNESCO said, according to AFP.

The organization also stated that "the Italian authorities needed to step up efforts to secure the historic city and its surrounding lagoon," AFP reported.

The World Heritage Committee is scheduled to meet in September. At the meeting, officials will determine if Venice will be added to the list.

This isn't the first time the City of Water has been recommended for the world heritage danger list.

The Associated Press reported that the city narrowly avoided being added to the list in 2021. The site was recommended in June of that year, but after Italian officials banned large cruise ships from entering its port, Venice avoided the designation, according to the outlet.

If added, Venice will join 55 other sites on the organization's danger list. Places like Bolivia's City of Potosí, the Old City of Jerusalem, and Florida's Everglades National Park are included on the list.

The UNESCO's World Heritage Center director Mechtild Roessler previously told the Associated Press that "the designation is intended to foster a response that will help protect important at-risk sites in danger and resolve issues."

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