( CNN ) -- Endangered cultural sites are the stars of the annual International Day for Monuments and Sites -- more commonly known as World Heritage Day -- on April 18 . Some of these wonders are part of the Global Heritage Fund 's first annual list of five endangered cultural sites , issued to mark the day and draw attention to the fund 's work . The day was first adopted as a concept in 1983 to draw attention to the cultural heritage of communities around the world . Sites include a natural Guatemalan wonderland larger than Yellowstone National Park , Colombia 's Lost City and medieval villages in the Transylvanian Alps . The fund , which works to protect significant and endangered cultural heritage sites in the developing world , named sites they 're working to save from the impact of uncontrolled modern development , tourism and looting . `` Many cultural sites are endangered , especially those in the developing world ( regions where per capita income is less than $ 2 per day ) , and they languish without any international attention , '' wrote Vince Michael , the fund 's executive director , via e-mail . `` It 's our hope that World Heritage Day and our list will inspire community involvement in preserving the legacy of these sites . '' Travelers ' choice : World 's top 25 destinations . Why focus on these five sites ? Some locations were chosen for their historical significance . `` Ciudad Perdida ( in Colombia ) was once a thriving center of political , social and economic power , and Göbekli Tepe ( in Turkey ) is the oldest man-made place of worship discovered to date . As awareness of these two sites has grown , threats such as unregulated tourism and looting could harm the sites , '' Michael wrote . The Minority Villages of Guizhou ( in China ) and the Carpathian Villages ( in Romania ) were included because of their important cultural heritage and traditional practices , `` which are being eroded by modern development and industrialization , '' Michael said . `` Finally , we included Mirador , Guatemala , because it is facing critical environmental threats -- ranching and logging have destroyed 70 percent of its forests in the last decade . '' Do you agree with the fund 's choices ? What would you add ?
The Global Heritage Fund issues its first - ever list of endangered sites . The fund aims to protect sites in developing countries . An centuries - old ceremonial site in Turkey is on the fund list .