natural reserve
Unesco: Natural World Heritage sites crucial for species protection
A one-year-old baby mountain gorilla hangs upside down from a branch in the rainforest of southwest Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. photo
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
They are considered the last retreat for numerous animals and plants. But the world heritage sites are also increasingly threatened – by climate change, poaching and advancing agriculture.
According to the UN cultural organization Unesco, the more than 200 natural world heritage sites around the world are essential for the protection of biodiversity. “We can now look at the world heritage sites as a last bulwark against extinction,” said Lazare Eloundou Assomo, head of the Paris-based UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
According to a study by the cultural organization and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published on Thursday, the world’s natural heritage sites are home to about a fifth of the world’s recorded species, although they only make up one percent of the earth’s surface.
Last retreats
“The World Heritage sites that affect biodiversity are considered a bit as last resorts for all these species,” said Eloundou Assomo. According to the report, the sites are home to more than 75,000 species of plants and more than 30,000 species of animals. Some of the most threatened species also live in the protected areas, most of them plants, but among the 20,000 or so endangered species in the sites are also Javan rhinos, mountain gorillas and California porpoises. About a third of the remaining elephants, tigers and pandas live in the World Heritage sites, with giraffes, lions, rhinos and apes it is one in ten animals.
However, Unesco and IUCN also warn that the world heritage sites have come under pressure from climate change, poaching, the expansion of agriculture and the overexploitation of resources. In order to maintain the protective value of the areas for biodiversity, countries would have to take them into account in their national conservation action plans. The World Heritage sites should be a priority in these strategies, Eloundou Assomo urged.
For the analysis, IUCN and Unesco took into account not only the more than 200 natural world heritage sites, but also around 20 percent of the world cultural heritage sites that were ascribed a role in species protection – such as national parks listed as cultural heritage.