UN lists South Sudan antelope route as heritage in danger

The United Nations has fast-tracked a vast antelope migration path in South Sudan onto its list of World Heritage in Danger, in the young nation's first such listing.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) added the so-called Boma-Badingilo migratory landscape to its list on Sunday.

The grassland and woodland savannahs that cover some 37,500 square kilometres -- an area larger than Belgium -- are viewed as under threat from both war and climate change.

One million animals -- including antelopes and gazelles -- migrate through the vast wilderness located between the White Nile and the Ethiopian border every year, leaving scars on the grasslands that are visible from the sky.

South Sudan has been the scene of a series of deadly conflicts since gaining its independence in 2011.

"The Boma-Badingilo migratory landscape is home to one of the greatest wildlife migrations on Earth and stands as a powerful symbol of our country's resilience, beauty and potential," Tourism Minister Denay Jock Chagor told AFP.

Its listing "as South Sudan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site is a proud and historic moment for our nation", he added.

Paulino Warnyang, a representative of communities living in the area, said it honoured "not only the animals and the land, but also the people whose lives, traditions and cultures have always been connected to them".

Making the UNESCO heritage list often sparks a lucrative tourism drive and can unlock funding for the preservation of sites that can face threats including pollution, war and negligence.