1In the middle of the twentieth century, Egypt planned a huge dam across the River Nile.
2The new lake behind the dam would flood ancient temples, including the great monuments at Abu Simbel.
3Alarmed by this terrible threat, countries from all around the world joined together to save them.
4Skilled engineers carefully cut the temples into enormous blocks and moved them to much higher ground.
5This remarkable rescue showed that great cultural treasures belong to everyone, and not just to one nation.
6Only a few years later, the famous World Heritage programme of the United Nations was born.
7Today, the list protects well over a thousand natural and cultural places across the globe.
8Among them are the Great Barrier Reef, the old city of Venice, and Angkor Wat.
9Being chosen for the list brings great honour, but it also brings strict duties of care.
10Governments must protect these fragile sites from pollution, armed conflict, and the pressures of careless tourism.
11The idea is simple: some places are so precious that losing them would impoverish us all.