For more than 50 years, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) has been working to protect and promote our most endangered architectural and cultural treasures. Every two years, the WMF takes nominations for global landmarks in urgent need of help. From Alabama's Africatown to ancient pyramids in Sudan, these extraordinary places have made the charity's 2022 watchlist...

Dubbed one of the most outstanding examples of modernist architecture on the African continent, La Maison du Peuple was inaugurated in 1965. The building served as a political hub, following Upper Volta’s (modern-day Burkina Faso) declaration of independence from France in 1960. It was the brainchild of French architect Rene Faublee and is hailed for its earthy colours, bold patterns and rooftop lanterns (a cue from traditional Mossi architecture). However, the building lacks protections and over the years has fallen into disrepair. The WMF intends to educate and campaign around the structure's importance and save it from the wrecking ball. 

Upward of 700 Mayan structures have been discovered at Lamanai, an ancient Mayan city state that originated in 1500 BC. Vestiges of the community – which flourished here for 3,000 years before the arrival of Europeans – include the striking Mask Temple (pictured), while there are colonial relics including a brick sugar mill too. However, deforestation is encroaching on the site and its surroundings (also hailed for their biodiversity). The WMF also argues that more can be done to ensure that tourism truly benefits local communities. 

It’s the ancient rock art that makes this state park in the Amazon Basin extra special. Significant sites include the Pedra Pintada (Painted Rock) cave, which was occupied as early as 12,000 years ago and is adorned with striking red and yellow symbols. However, despite its protections, the site faces threats ranging from forest degradation (due to cattle farming in the region) to a heightened risk from wildfires thanks to climate change.

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This stirring site dates to the 15th century, when a monument-filled town named Khalifatabad was built under the watch of Khan Jahan Ali and the governing Bengal Sultanate. The town included a slew of arresting mosques, several elaborate bridges and, eventually, the tomb of ruler Khan Jahan Ali himself. The mosques here are still used for daily worship, but climate change and the resultant rising sea levels have led to severe flooding in the area, putting these precious landmarks at severe risk.

One of Egypt’s most significant archaeological sites (and that's saying something), Abydos has been occupied since around 3300 BC and was the burial ground for the country's early pharaohs. Precious remnants of the ancient site remain, including millennia-old funerary monuments, but intruding urban and agricultural development in the surrounding area means the site faces increasing threats.

It’s Mother Nature herself that poses a risk to this longstanding artillery fort in southern England, which was commissioned by Tudor King Henry VIII in 1544. The defensive structure was operational until after the Second World War, but sea level rises and storm surges are threatening the fort today. The shingle spit it sits upon is receding and, in 2021, a section of the fort finally collapsed.

These striking buildings are what remains of a culture and kingdom that flourished in the 18th century. The Kingdom of Asante was once among the most potent and influential on the African continent, and the earthen shrines dotted across central Ghana are reminders of this legacy. However, over the years, historic methods of preserving the shrines have been replaced with modern methods and materials, affecting the historic integrity of these unique buildings.

The wooden residences on Indonesia’s Sumba Island are as culturally significant as they are striking. They’re unique thanks to their soaring thatched roofs, while their layout is often meant to mirror the human body, or natural phenomena like rivers and the sun. However, the art of restoring these historic homes is disappearing as generations pass, and several clusters have also been ravaged by fire.

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A remnant of a sombre chapter in Australia’s history, this site was a former campus where – having been forcibly removed from their families – Aboriginal Dunghutti children were incarcerated and subjected to programmes intended to ‘assimilate’ them into white society. These programmes involved intense manual labour often alongside physical abuse, and the children became known as the 'Stolen Generations'. The centre wasn’t shuttered until 1970 and has long stood vacant. The survivor-run Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation now hopes to turn the complex into a museum and ‘healing centre’.

Also known as Old China Town, this neighbourhood was given its distinct cultural character by Chinese sailors who settled here in the 18th century. With them they brought customs and traditions, from striking architectural styles to the craft of artisanal leather goods. However, the community has aged and declined over the years, and modern development is infringing on the area. Services like refuse collection have become unreliable too, leaving the neighbourhood's future uncertain.

The culture and identity of the Indigenous Bunong People is intrinsically linked to their homeland: Cambodia's bucolic Mondulkiri Province. That identity manifests in traditional houses (typically squat huts with thatched grass roofs), agricultural land, forests and sacred grave sites – all of which are sadly at risk. Modern development and commerce in the region jeopardise these traditional ways of life, but projects are now underway to map precious Bunong sites and protect them for posterity. 

An explosion at the Port of Beirut in 2020 (caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate) devastated a swathe of the city, killing 218 people and injuring thousands more. Much of the Lebanese capital's heritage architecture – from Ottoman-era homes to modernist structures – was destroyed too, particularly in the neighbourhoods of Mar Mikhael, Karantina and Gemmayzeh (pictured). Now, many of the damaged buildings face destruction or redevelopment, threatening the architectural fabric of the city. 

Devastating civil conflict in Libya has led to the decimation of the city of Benghazi, whose historic core has been largely abandoned since 2017. That core – which was also devastated during the Second World War – includes intricate Arab- and Ottoman-style buildings as well as more modern structures. Various organisations, including the WMF and the Libyan Department of Antiquities, are involved in assessing the damage and making recovery plans.

Intricately carved water fountains have been part of the physical and cultural landscape of the Kathmandu Valley since the 6th century. And, given that around 20% of the region's population don't have access to drinking water at home, these 'hitis' are not just ornate cultural relics, but essential tools of survival. The WMF hopes to restore a percentage of these traditional fountains in order to help combat water scarcity in the Valley.

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Built for the Mughal emperor Jahangir, this ornamental mausoleum dates back to 1637 and is located in Lahore, then an imperial hub. Beyond the soaring minarets and decorated red sandstone, a highlight is the tranquil Persian-style garden that the tomb is set in. It's hoped that one day both the tomb and its gardens will be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, but at present the mausoleum is in need of repair.

There are several things that make these maritime stations in Portugal's capital special. First, there's the modernist architecture, tipped as some of the most impressive from the 20th century. Then there's the mural paintings by artist Jose de Almada Negreiros, who resolved to show Portugal's might through his works. His layered presentation of the country's history proved controversial to the state (then under the authoritarian Estado Novo regime), and they were almost destroyed, but the WMF hopes to raise awareness of their importance today. 

The city of Timisoara, in western Romania, once had large and thriving Jewish communities, who built architectural jewels such as the Fabric Synagogue, finished in 1899. However, the Second World War decimated and displaced many of these communities and only 600 Jewish people remain here today. As the city gears up to become the European Capital of Culture for 2023, there are efforts to map these cultural sites and tell stories from their community.

Watching over the River Nile, these stirring pyramids were built for rulers of the ancient kingdom of Kush and the area has been a resting place for pharaohs since the mid-7th century BC. However, these precious archaeological relics are at the mercy of the elements. Wind-whipped sand is gradually eroding their facades, while a rising water table has encroached on subterranean burial chambers.

There's plenty that's precious about this island chain in the Arabian Sea. The largest isle is Socotra itself, whose landscape includes otherworldly dragon blood trees (pictured), a sand-trimmed coast and soaring peaks. It's also hailed for its biodiversity and its ancient maritime trading heritage. Unfortunately, the islands have been battered by cyclones in recent years (which have become a good deal more common thanks to climate change), threatening both the region's natural wonders and its cultural heritage. 

Africatown was formed by descendants of the Clotilda, a slave schooner that brought 110 people to the shores of Mobile after they'd been captured from their homelands in West Africa. The area has seen increased media attention since the Clotilda remnants were found in the Mobile River in 2019. A new museum, the Africatown Heritage House, will tell the story of the ship and the community here. The WMF highlights the need to ensure that tourism in the neighbourhood is led by – and benefits – local people going forward.

Some 200,000 people lived in this ancient city at its peak (between 100 BC and AD 650) and the site remained sacred long afterwards. It's characterised by soaring landmarks, including the stepped Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon, and the intricate Temple of the Feathered Serpent. However, the millennia-old structures are deteriorating over time – only accelerated by encroaching development (on areas that may be of archaeological significance) and increased tourism.

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