Breaking News English

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has issued a [stork / stark] warning about the future of the world's natural World Heritage sites. It says [half / halve] of the sites are at risk from [different / indifferent] industries. The WWF warned that harmful industrial activities such [was / as] mining, dredging or drilling for oil are [endangering / engendering] the future of 114 of 229 sites. Other factors adding to the [risk / risky] include illegal logging and unsustainable water use. All of these are in [addition / additional] to the damage being done by climate change. The WWF says the sites [effected / affected] include Australia's Great Barrier Reef, [the / a] Grand Canyon National Park in the USA, and China's Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, which are [home / house] to more than 30 per cent of the world's endangered pandas.

The [director / direction] of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre said it was [rise / up] to everyone to protect these sites. She said: "World Heritage is humankind's [common / commonly] heritage, and the responsibility for its conservation is [sheared / shared] by everyone." She welcomed government efforts at [reduction / reducing] what they take from the Earth, saying: "The WWF's report comes at a [timely / time] when governments and the private sector around the world are stepping [on / up] their action against harmful extractive [using / uses] ." However, the WWF said that more than 11 million people worldwide rely [on / in] World Heritage sites for food, water, shelter, jobs and medicine, and that non-stop development could harm livelihoods as [well / good] as the environment.