2012 World Monuments Watch


The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund that calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster.

Selection process

Every two years, it publishes a select list known as the Watch List of Endangered Sites that are in urgent need of preservation funding and protection. The sites are nominated by governments, conservation professionals, site caretakers, non-government organizations, concerned individuals, and others working in the field. An independent panel of international experts then select 100 candidates from these entries to be part of the Watch List, based on the significance of the sites, the urgency of the threat, and the viability of both advocacy and conservation solutions. For the succeeding two-year period until a new Watch List is published, these 100 sites can avail grants and funds from the WMF, as well as from other foundations, private donors, and corporations by capitalizing on the publicity and attention gained from the inclusion on the Watch List.

2012 Watch List

The 2012 Watch List was published on 5 October 2011.
Country/TerritorySiteLocation
ArgentinaCasa sobre el ArroyoMar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province
ArgentinaCity of La PlataLa Plata, Buenos Aires Province
ArgentinaPucará de TilcaraQuebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province
BelizeHistoric architecture of Belize CityBelize City
BeninAkaba IdénaKétou, Plateau Department
BhutanWangduechhoeling PalaceJakar, Bumthang District
BoliviaEl Fuerte de SamaipataSamaipata, Santa Cruz Department
BrazilHistoric center of Salvador De BahiaSalvador, State of Bahia
Burkina FasoCour Royale de TiébéléTiébélé, Centre-Sud Region
Cayman IslandsMind's EyeGeorge Town, Grand Cayman
ChinaArchaeological site of the palace of Nanyue KingdomGuangzhou, Guangdong Province
ChinaTiantai AnWangqu, Shanxi Province
ColombiaHistoric center of Santa Cruz de MompoxSanta Cruz de Mompox, Bolívar Department
ColombiaPaeces chapels of TierradentroPáez Municipality, near Belalcazar, Cauca Department
CubaParish Church of San Juan Bautista de los RemediosSan Juan de los Remedios, Villa Clara Province
Dominican RepublicParish Church of San DionisioHigüey, La Altagracia Province
GhanaAsante traditional buildingsnear Kumasi, Ashanti Region
GreeceFirst Cemetery of AthensAthens
GuatemalaArchaeological park and ruins of QuiriguáLos Amates, Izabal Department
GuatemalaEl ZotzPetén Department
HaitiGingerbread NeighborhoodPort-au-Prince
HaitiJacmel historic districtJacmel
HaitiPalace Of Sans SouciMilot
IndiaBagh-I-Hafiz RakhnaSirhind-Fategarh, Punjab
IndiaBalaji GhatVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh
IndiaHistoric Havelis of BikanerBikaner, Rajasthan
IndiaRoyal Opera HouseMumbai, Maharashtra
IndonesiaDesa LinggaKaro Regency, North Sumatra Province
JapanHirakushi Denchū house and atelierTaitō, Tokyo
JapanEast Japan earthquake heritage sitesTōhoku and Kantō Regions
JapanMachiya townhousesKyoto
JordanAbilaQuweilbeh, Irbid Governorate
KazakhstanNecropolises of nomads in MangystauMangystau Province, Kazakhstan
MacedoniaStobiGradsko
MadagascarRoyal hill of AmbohimangaAmbohimanga Rova, Antananarivo Province
MexicoColonial bridge of TequixtepecSan Miguel Tequixtepec, Oaxaca
MexicoRuta de la AmistadMexico City
NetherlandsBeth Haim Portuguese Jewish CemeteryOuderkerk aan de Amstel, North Holland
New ZealandCanterbury provincial government buildingsChristchurch, Canterbury
Palestinian TerritoryTell Umm el-'Amr Nuseirat, Gaza Strip
PanamaWay On CemeteryPanama City
PeruAlameda de los Descalzos and Paseo de AguasRímac, Lima
PeruLines and geoglyphs of NascaNazca, Ica Region
PeruQuinta de PresaRímac, Lima
PolandSt. Paraskewa churchRadruż, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
PortugalJardim Botânico de LisboaLisbon
Saint HelenaSaint HelenaSaint Helena
SpainBarrio del Cabanyal-CanyamelarValencia
SpainBerrocal de TrujilloTrujillo, Extremadura
TunisiaOld town of TestourTestour, Béja Governorate
TurkeyHaydarpaşa Railway StationIstanbul
TurkeyOshki monasteryÇamlıyamaç, Erzurum Province
TurkeyRum OrphanageBüyükada, Princes' Islands, Istanbul
TurkmenistanUlug Depenear Dushak, Ahal Province
United KingdomBritish Brutalism
Birmingham, Preston, and London, England
United KingdomNewstead AbbeyRavenshead, Nottinghamshire
United KingdomQuarr AbbeyRyde, Isle of Wight
United KingdomRuins of the former cathedral church of St. Michael, CoventryCoventry, West Midlands
United States510 Fifth AvenueNew York, New York
United StatesCharleston Historic DistrictCharleston, South Carolina
United StatesManitogaGarrison, New York
United StatesNew York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and SculptureNew York, New York
United StatesOrange County Government CenterGoshen, New York
United StatesWalpi villageNavajo County, Arizona
VietnamFishing villages of Hạ Long BayHạ Long Bay, Quảng Ninh Province
YemenMosque and hammam Al-MudhaffarTa'izz, Ta'izz Governorate
ZimbabweNalatale ruinsnear Gweru, Matabeleland North

Statistics by country/territory

The following countries/territories have multiple sites entered on the 2012 Watch List, listed by the number of sites:
Number of sitesCountry/Territory
6United States
4India
4United Kingdom
3Argentina
3Haiti
3Japan
3Peru
2China
2Colombia
2Guatemala
2Turkey
2Mexico
2Spain