News and Politics | October 27, 2008 | 9 comments

500 places to see before they die

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/26/travel-conservation-heritage

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The first guidebook of 'last chance saloon' holidays will be published tomorrow for travellers who want to visit the most endangered tourist destinations across the world. Frommer's 500 Places To See Before They Disappear provides a list of sites where it is still possible to see rare and vulnerable animal species, special landscapes and unique cultural sights in their unspoilt glory.

Co-author Holly Hughes, a former executive editor of Fodor's Travel Publications, said: 'The devastation wrought by climate change and direct man-made interference is familiar to all of us. But this book is a carefully chosen list of last-chance destinations that eco-conscious travellers can enjoy - if they move sharpish - for possibly the last time.'

According to Hughes and co-author Larry West, an award-winning investigative journalist once nominated for a Pulitzer prize, more than 20 of Britain's best-loved landmarks - and lesser-known gems - merit a place in their collection. The Tower of London and Greenwich Maritime Museum, for example, are at risk from rising ocean levels which will lead the Thames to flood its banks.

With 500 threatened destinations to choose from, she suggests heading to the Everglades in southern Florida. Filled with rare species, this ecosystem is degenerating with alarming rapidity. Already half has been lost to agricultural and urban development. Dwindling water levels and pollution have severely compromised what remains. 'The number of bird species has fallen by 93 per cent and many of the fish and even the alligators who remain show high mercury levels,' said Hughes.

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