The Moon on list of endangered heritage sites: World Monuments Fund 2025 Watch list

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The Moon has, for the first time, appeared on the World Monuments Fund's endangered heritage sites list.

A list of endangered heritage sites includes one somewhat surprising entry - the Moon. Each year, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) releases a guide to locations it deems to face challenges including climate change, tourism, conflict, and natural disaster.

And for 2025, for the first time, an out-of-this-world location features in the 25-strong list, with WMF experts highlighting how there is "currently no dedicated international agreement addressing lunar heritage protection".

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"For the first time, the Moon is included on the Watch to reflect the urgent need to recognize and preserve the artefacts that testify to humanity’s first steps beyond Earth - a defining moment in our shared history," said WMF president and CEO, Bénédicte de Montlaur.

The Moon has, for the first time, appeared on the World Monuments Fund's endangered heritage sites list.The Moon has, for the first time, appeared on the World Monuments Fund's endangered heritage sites list.
The Moon has, for the first time, appeared on the World Monuments Fund's endangered heritage sites list. | Dave Thompson/PA Wire

"Items such as the camera that captured the televised moon landing; a memorial disk left by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin; and hundreds of other objects are emblematic of this legacy.

"Yet, they face mounting risks amid accelerating lunar activities, undertaken without adequate preservation protocols. The inclusion of the Moon underscores the universal need for proactive and cooperative strategies to protect heritage - whether on Earth or beyond - that reflect and safeguard our collective narrative."

The full WMF 2025 Watch list

  • Monasteries of the Drino Valley, Albania
  • Cinema Studio Namibe, Angola
  • Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
  • Buddhist Grottoes of Maijishan and Yungang, China
  • Swahili Coast Heritage Sites, Comoros, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania
  • Chapel of the Sorbonne, France
  • Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, Greece
  • Bhuj Historic Water Systems, India
  • Musi River Historic Buildings, India
  • Noto Peninsula Heritage Sites, Japan
  • Erdene Zuu Buddhist Monastery, Mongolia
  • Jewish Heritage of Debdou, Morocco
  • Chief Ogiamien’s House, Nigeria
  • Gaza Historic Urban Fabric, Palestine
  • Waru Waru Agricultural Fields, Peru
  • Terracotta Sculptures of Alcobaça Monastery, Portugal
  • Ruins of Old Belchite, Spain
  • Water Reservoirs of the Tunis Medina, Tunisia
  • Historic City of Antakya, Türkiye
  • Kyiv Teacher’s House, Ukraine
  • Belfast Assembly Rooms, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
  • The Great Trading Path, United States
  • Historic Lighthouses of Maine, United States
  • Barotse Floodplain Cultural Landscape, Zambia
  • The Moon

The only UK site to make the list are the Belfast Assembly Rooms, in Northern Ireland, which the guide said is in need of repair and repurpose, "transforming it into a museum encouraging reflection on Northern Ireland’s Troubles".

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