We continue our series on destinations that are under threat from rapid development, global warming, pollution and deforestation.

1. Everglades National Park, Florida USA

This 1.5 million-acre area is full of rare and endangered species like the Florida panther and the West Indian manatee. It’s the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. and has been on the World Heritage Center’s Danger List since 1993. Urban development, including condominiums and shopping malls started in the late 1980s, is endangering this wildlife sanctuary. Already, half the ecosystem is gone, says Linda Friar, a spokeswoman for Everglades National Park.

2. Galapagos Islands

Too much of a good thing can have negative consequences. Around 60,000 people visited these islands off the coast of Ecuador in 1996. That number more than doubled in 2006, according to the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands. The result? The visitors that come here every day can harm marine species like tortoises, iguanas, sea lions and vampire finches by bringing in germ-laden insects to which the animals are not immune.

3. Chan Chan Archaeological Zone, Peru

This site of the pre-Inca Chimu Kingdom includes nine mud brick-walled citadels with mud plaster decorations. The site has survived for hundreds of years because of its desert locale, but global warming has recently brought torrential rain and winds to the area, causing gradual erosion of the structures, says William C.S. Remsen, a preservation architect and research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology.

4. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

This area is home to historic sites like the Hindu shrine of Pashupati and the Buddhist stupa of Swayambhu. Such ancient architecture is being destroyed because of uncontrolled urban development near the sites. This has led to pollution, which William C.S. Remsen, a preservation architect and research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, says creates acid rain and eats away at the stones that form the structures.

5. Tibet

One of the biggest threats to cultural heritage is development, says Kecia Fong, a conservator for the Getty Conservation Institute. The Himalayas and sacred religious sites such as Drepung Monastery in Lhasa are being disrupted by mainland Chinese moving in and opening businesses, thereby increasing tourism. A new luxury train on the 1,215-mile Qinghai-Tibet Railway between China and Tibet is expected to debut at the end of this year.

6. Mount Kilimanjaro’s ice fields, Tanzania

The massive pure white ice fields that Ernest Hemingway captured in his short story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” are literally disappearing. In 2002, Lonnie Thompson, a professor of geological sciences at Ohio State University, released a study that predicted these fields would be wiped out completely between 2015 and 2020 as a result of global warming. Data from the study show that 82% of the ice fields melted between 1912 and 2000. Other researchers have also predicted their demise.

7. Glacier National Park, Montana USA

This park, which has more than 130 lakes and 1,000 different kinds of plants, was also home to at least 150 glaciers in the mid 19th century. Today, most of them have melted away and only a few dozen remain. The final glacier is expected to melt in the next 20 to 30 years, according to Worldwatch, so if you’re nature lover, it’s worthwhile to visit these beauties now.

8. Luxor, Egypt

This city is home to some of the greatest wonders of ancient Egypt, including the Temple Complex of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings, which houses the tombs of the pharaohs. William C.S. Remsen, a preservation architect and research associate at the university, says as more people move into the area (which was once farmland) extra water is pumped in, causing water levels to rise. Since the temples are made out of porous stone, the water gets absorbed and leaves behind salt. When this salt crystallizes behind the stone, it causes the decorated surfaces of the temples to evaporate.

9. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Here, global warming is causing coral bleaching, which threatens the largest coral reef system in the world. More than 2,800 reefs are in danger. When ocean temperatures rise, the algae that gives coral its color is forced out of the coral polyps, leaving them to die.

10. The Michoacan Mountains, Mexico

Every year from November to March, at least 200 million monarch butterflies live in this rugged mountain range about three hours from Mexico City. For years, tourists have come to this butterfly reserve to marvel at their beauty. Now illegal deforestation is destroying the trees that the monarchs rely on for protection. Up to millions of monarchs can die in one storm, according to Maraleen Manos-Jones, a director of the La Cruz Habitation Protection Projection that reforests the area.

UNESCO keeps a list of destinations and sites that are considered endangered. The list can be found on the UNESCO website

Content Provided by Forbes.Com. Read the full article by Shivana Vora here