The Victoria Falls in southern Africa could lose their World Heritage status.

Unesco has informed the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia that they could revoke the status if structures were to be built there.

Specifically, it is about lodges, a golf course and a hydroelectric power plant, as the British newspaper "The Times" reported a few days ago.

A Unesco report, written after officials visited the site for five days, said the plans released by authorities in Lusaka and Harare "are inconsistent in the use of precise boundaries and buffer zones." .

The UN organization is apparently also concerned that the golf course could disrupt an existing elephant corridor.

A hotel complex with several hundred beds is also to be built on the Zambian side.

Unesco called for an immediate halt to construction.

For both countries, the Zambezi is also important as a source of energy.

The Zambian river authorities are planning another dam below the falls, which would be the third major dam project on the Zambezi, alongside the Kariba dam and the Cahora Bassa dam.

This has led to disagreements in the past.

Both countries are under great pressure to improve their citizens' access to electricity, the heritage officials said.

Should development go ahead, the special status of the area "could be considered endangered in the near future," the delegation said.

The Victoria Falls, which were discovered by David Livingstone in 1813 and after which the small town on the Zambian side is named, have been a World Heritage Site since 1989.

Since then, the natural spectacle has attracted many tourists.

At 1700 meters long, the Victoria Falls are the longest continuous waterfalls in the world.

The height is about 110 meters.