The historic center of Dresden is reflected in the Elbe River
© AFP/DDP/FileVILNIUS (AFP) - "The World Heritage Committee decided that plans to build a bridge across Elbe would have such a serious impact on the integrity of the property's landscape that it may no longer deserve to be on the World Heritage List," the World Heritage Committee, which is meeting in the Lithuanian capital, said in a statement.
"It therefore decided to inscribe Dresden valley on the List of World Heritage in Danger with a view to also consider, in a prudent manner, delisting the site from the World Heritage List in 2007 if the plans are carried through," it added.
The Dresden Valley, which stretches 18 kilometers (11 miles), was added to the World Heritage List in 2004.
It is described by UNESCO as "an outstanding cultural landscape that integrates the celebrated baroque setting and suburban garden city into an artistic whole within the river valley."
No site has ever been removed from the World Heritage List, which was established in 1972 and now numbers 812 natural and man-made sites around the world from the Giza pyramids in Egypt to the Great Wall of China.
With the addition of the Dresden Valley, the List of World Heritage in Danger now includes 31 properties.
Earlier this week, the World Heritage Committee decided to remove four sites from the list: Cologne cathedral in Germany, Hampi in India, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary in Senegal and Ichkeul National Park in Tunisia.
Cologne cathedral had been placed on the list of sites in danger for reasons similar to the Dresden Elbe valley, as developers in Cologne wanted to build multi-storey buildings near the centuries-old Gothic cathedral that currently dominates the city's skyline.
But they scaled down their plans and made improvements to the way the area surrounding the cathedral is managed, allowing UNESCO to take the imposing cathedral off the danger list.
The List of World Heritage in Danger is "designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action," UNESCO says on its website.
The World Heritage Commission has been meeting since last week in Vilnius. The meeting is due to close on Sunday.
©AFP