A UNESCO spokesperson said the world heritage committee has consistently considered mining and drilling near sites to be “incompatible with world heritage status.”
The Trump administration plans to revoke a drill-free buffer zone around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO world heritage site in New Mexico. The 20-mile zone currently protects the area around the park from fossil fuel drilling and uranium mining, which activists warn could cause environmental harm to the park.
The Chaco Culture national historical park is home to the ruins of Indigenous Pueblo peoples’ settlements, and internationally recognized as an ideal location for stargazing, Oliver Milman writes for the Guardian. Bright lights from fracking may diminish stargazing opportunities, and air pollution from mining may reduce visitors to the park, opponents warn.
The park is one of only 27 world heritage sites in the United States — others include Yosemite and the Statue of Liberty — and one of the most important cultural areas in the US. UNESCO told the Guardian it is awaiting a response from the federal government as to the potential impact of drilling and mining activities near the park, and warned that “the world heritage committee has consistently considered extractive activities to be incompatible with world heritage status.”
When the Trump administration first announced the plan to drill in the zone around the park, it received over 100,000 complaints across a 14-day comment period.
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Read the full story: Trump plan to allow drilling near US world heritage site sparks alarm
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