Endangered Trivia Quiz

Answer: Syria

Syria counts six sites inscribed in the World Heritage List: the ancient cities of Damascus, Aleppo and Bosra, with buildings dating from many different eras; the ruins of the desert city of Palmyra; a group of 40 ancient villages known as the Dead Cities; and the medieval fortresses of Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din. During the Syrian Civil War, which broke out in 2011, all these sites have been damaged by bombing, gunfire and looting; the site of Palmyra in particular was partly destroyed by Islamic State terrorists in 2015, before being recaptured by the Syrian Army two years later.

The photo shows a detail of the historic centre of Damascus (the Syrian capital, and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities), with the ruins of the Roman temple of Jupiter at the entrance of Al-Hamidiyah Souq, the city's oldest and largest market.

All the Middle Eastern countries mentioned as incorrect choices have had sites included in the World Heritage in Danger list.

Answer: Buddha

In March 2001, the world watched in horror as the two monumental Buddha statues that had stood for almost 1,500 years in the Bamiyan Valley of central Afghanistan were blown up by the Taliban. The two huge statues (35 and 53 m/115 and 174 ft tall) had been carved into a sandstone cliff in the 6th century AD in the Greco-Buddhist style known as Gandhara. The wanton destruction of these two artifacts was justified as an act of religious iconoclasm, as the Buddhas were considered idols - and therefore blasphemous - by Islamic fundamentalists. The outlines of the statues can still be distinguished within the two niches that used to contain them; attempts at reconstruction have been under way for a number of years, using the fragments left after the explosion. The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage in Danger in 2003.

The destruction of the statues revealed a network of caves, some of which contain wall paintings. The Bamiyan Valley, which was situated in a strategic position on the ancient Silk Road, also contains Buddhist monasteries and fortified structures from the Islamic period.

Answer: orangutan

Indonesia is one of the few places in the world where tropical rainforests still survive. Sumatra, one of the world's largest islands, was once covered by lush rainforest, but over the past 50 years or so half of it has been lost. The UNESCO site known as Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra comprises the national parks of Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan. These parks, all located along the Bukit Barisan Mountains that run from north to south on the island's western side, are renowned for their magnificent views and extremely rich biodiversity. Among the animal species found within the site, there are orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and the rare Sumatran rhinoceros; the world's largest flower, the corpse lily, and tallest flower, the titan arum. also grow there.

The site was placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2011 because of the threats posed by various human enterprises, such as logging, mining and poaching, as well as plans to build a road through the site.

The orangutan, the only great ape found in Asia, is listed by IUCN as critically endangered. The bonobo, the mandrill and the guenon all live in Africa.

Answer: Micronesia

The island of Pohnpei, where Nan Madol (listed by UNESCO as "Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia") is located, also hosts the seat of the government of the Federated States of Micronesia. Built on a series of artificial islands connected by canals, Nan Madol ("the space between things") has been - rather unsurprisingly - nicknamed "the Venice of the Pacific". The city - which was probably built towards the end of the 12th century AD - was the religious and political centre of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which ruled over Pohnpei until 1628. The remains of Nan Madol consist of imposing megalithic structures built of huge blocks of basalt on top of a coral reef; many of the buildings, including the one shown in the photo, are tombs where the rulers and the nobility were buried.

In 2016, this unique, mysterious site was added to the World Heritage List and, at the same time, to the World Heritage in Danger list: in fact, the stability of the buildings is being undermined by the uncontrolled growth of mangroves due to the steady accumulation of silt in the canals.

The name "Micronesia" means "small islands" in Greek. Polynesia and Melanesia are also regions of Oceania; the word "Austronesia" is nowadays mainly used to refer to the Austronesian family of languages, which includes Malay, Indonesian, Malagasy, Tagalog and Maori.

Answer: silver

Located at an elevation of 4,090 m (13,420 ft), the city of Potosí was founded in 1545 by the Spanish, who discovered the abundant silver deposits of the mountain dominating the city. Potosě soon became the world's largest industrial complex, and the seat of the Spanish colonial silver mint (whose building is shown in the photo); its name also became a byword for wealth (hence the saying "worth a Potosí"). However, by the early 19th century, the mines were almost exhausted, and the population fell from almost 200,000 to barely 10,000.

The city's Spanish colonial architecture, which include the Mint (Casa de la Moneda), churches and patrician homes, exemplifies the "Andean Baroque" style; the industrial infrastructure has also been preserved, though now zinc and tin are the main resources mined there. Unfortunately, the stability of the Cerro Rico has been severely weakened by centuries of mining, so much that in 2011 parts of the mountain's summit collapsed. Because of that, in 2014 the site was placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger.

Answer: Everglades

Located in southern Florida, Everglades National Park was authorized in 1934, and dedicated by President Harry S Truman in 1947. The park was created to preserve the extensive network of wetlands and forests - spread over an area of 6,103.6 km˛ (1,508,243 acres) - home to a wide range of plant and animal life, including a number of threatened species unique to this environment: among them, the American crocodile and the Florida panther (a subspecies of cougar).

Visited by over a million people every year, Everglades National Park has been negatively impacted by human activity in spite of various initiatives by the US federal government to protect it. Another threat to the park's wildlife is the introduction of non-native species, such as the notorious Burmese pythons. In addition, the park has often suffered severe hurricane damage. In 1993, the park was placed on the World Heritage in Danger list in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, which in August 1992 caused widespread destruction in the region. Taken off the list in 2007, it was placed back there in 2010 because of the continued degradation of the site, with ongoing concerns such as high levels of mercury in the water, rising sea levels, and urban encroachment.

Of the three other US national parks listed as wrong answers, Dry Tortugas and Biscayne are also located in southern Florida, while Congaree is in South Carolina.

Answer: Timbuktu

Located in Mali, on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, in the 13th century, the fabled city of Timbuktu became an important hub for the trade of salt, gold, ivory and slaves. When in the 16th century an Islamic university was established there, Timbuktu also became a major centre of learning. In the early 17th century, however, the city began its long decline - even though in Europe its name had become a byword for fabulous wealth, prompting several expeditions in the 18th and 19th century. Present-day Timbuktu is impoverished and plagued by both desertification and catastrophic flooding, as well as recurring bouts of violence caused by local conflicts and jihadist groups.

In 1988, part of the historic centre of Timbuktu was added to the World Heritage List. The site includes 16 mausoleums, as well as the three mosques (Sankore, Djinguereber and Sidi Yahya) that compose the University - all built of mud reinforced with acacia wood in the traditional style of the West African Sahel. Because of the threats posed by urbanization, climate and lack of maintenance, in 1990, the site was placed in the World Heritage in Danger list, where it remained until 2005. In June 2012, some of the mausoleums were destroyed by members of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, and the Timbuktu site was placed on the list once again, together with the tomb of Askia in Gao, also reportedly attacked and damaged by the rebels. The Old Towns of Djenné, another Malian World Heritage site located south of Timbuktu, was added to the list of endangered sites in 2016.

Of the three wrong answers, Tripoli (Libya) and Tangier (Morocco) are also African cities. Tabriz, on the other hand, is a city in Iran.

Answer: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Established in 1925, Virunga National Park lies in the Albertine Rift Valley, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC for short), close to the border with Uganda. The park comprises about two-thirds of Lake Edward, the smallest of the African Great Lakes, and two active volcanic peaks, the Nyamulagira and the very dangerous Nyiragongo. Home to hundreds of endemic plant species and a wide range of animal life, which includes the endangered mountain gorilla and the huge African bush elephant, the park has a temperate climate due to its high average elevation, and offers spectacular views of the Virunga volcanic range and snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains.

Though, on the whole, the status of national park has been beneficial to Virunga's unique mountain environment, the armed conflict that has ravaged the DRC since the late 1990s has impacted the region, causing the death of almost 200 park rangers. After a series of deadly attacks in 2018, the park was closed to visitors for a few months. In the mid-1990s, the Rwandan Genocide led to a massive influx of refugees looking for food and firewood, which caused loss of wildlife and the deforestation of large areas of the park. Because of the volatile situation of the whole African Great Lakes region, Virunga National Park has been on the list of World Heritage in Danger since 1994. All other World Heritage sites in the DRC (the national parks of Salonga, Garamba and Kahuzi-Biega, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve) are also on the list.

The DRC, previously known as Belgian Congo and Zaire, became the second-largest African country after the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

Answer: Kosovo

The site listed by UNESCO as "Medieval Monuments of Kosovo" consists of four Orthodox churches and monasteries built between the 13th and the 14th century under the influential Nemanjić dynasty: the Dečani Monastery, the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery, the church of Our Lady of Ljevis, and the Gračanica Monastery. The distinctive architectural style of these religious complexes blends Byzantine and Romanesque influences; all of them contain outstanding examples of Serbian medieval fresco painting.

These four monuments, which have been on the World Heritage in Danger list since 2006, are listed as belonging to Serbia, though Kosovo declared its independence from the country in 2008. In fact, Kosovo has been recognized as a sovereign state only by part of the other member states of the UN. At the time of writing, UNESCO has not yet accepted Kosovo as a member, as a consequence of the violent events of 2004 - during which the church of Our Lady of Ljevis was badly damaged. All these beautiful buildings have undergone extensive restoration in recent years, but the lack of legal protection and effective management, as well as the country's political instability, are still cause for concern.

All the countries listed as incorrect answers are not recognized by at least one member state of the UN: however, only Abkhazia (a region of Georgia) has a status similar to that of Kosovo. Armenia is not recognized by Pakistan, and Cyprus by Turkey.

Answer: Vienna

Obviously, a prosperous city like Vienna - consistently mentioned as one of the world's most livable cities - is not being threatened by war, terrorism, or even natural disasters. However, the criteria allowing historic centres to maintain the coveted status of World Heritage Site are quite stringent, and the construction of high-rise buildings within their limits is a big no-no. In the 2010s, the plan for a large complex that would include a hotel, an indoor skating rink, a concert hall and a luxury apartment tower exceeding the permitted height of 43 m (141 ft) prompted the World Heritage Committee to place the Historic Centre of Vienna in the World Heritage in Danger list. The Committee was concerned about the damage this new addition (as well as the major infrastructure associated with this project) would do to the "morphological integrity" of the city's harmonious Baroque city centre - which includes world-famous churches, palaces, theatres, museums and parks. Additionally, allowing one high-rise to be built might open the door for others to follow, both in Vienna and elsewhere.

Many local citizens have taken a stand against the project because of the negative consequences of losing World Heritage status; on the other hand, supporters of "modernization" (including some Austrian and Viennese authorities) may have considered taking Vienna's historic centre off the UNESCO list to make way for modern developments.

The river mentioned in the question is the Danube, which flows through the Austrian capital.