Only twice in its history has UNESCO had to strike sites from its World Heritage List. But Russia now risks contributing a third case, thanks to plans to build a pipeline to China through protected land.President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia was ready to revive the "western route," a gas pipeline spanning the westernmost chunk of the Russian-Chinese border.
Echoing the sentiment, Gazprom head Alexei Miller said, also last week, that the state monopoly expected it would be ready to ink a deal on the matter in November. The project, first announced by Putin in 2006, envisaged a pipeline through the Golden Mountains of Altai, a World Heritage site.The plan was lambasted by environmentalists, and UNESCO threatened to move the Golden Mountains of Altai to the List of World Heritage in Danger last year, only relenting when Gazprom mothballed the "western route" until 2016. But now the "western route" is on track to revival as Russia executes an "eastward turn," strengthening ties with Beijing to offset a crisis in relations with the West.
INC News,08/09/2014
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