Natural World Heritage Sites (collection)

Published: July 8, 2008, 3:44 pm

Updated: June 14, 2012, 3:05 pm

Topics:

Conservation Biology (main) Biodiversity (main) Human Ecology (main)

In 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The purpose of the Convention is to "encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity." The Convention provides a mechanism by which member states can nominate important sites that are then evaluated by the World Heritage Committee. As of 2006, the World Heritage List includes 851 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 660 cultural, 166 natural and 25 mixed properties in 141 nations. As of October 2006, 184 States Parties have ratified the World Heritage Convention.

Two of the four criteria by which Natural World Heritage Sites can be nominated relate respectively to ecological and biological processes, and to the in-situ conservation of biological diversity. Accordingly, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the IUCN teamed with UNESCO to produce a separate sub-listing of all sites inscribed on the World Heritage List for natural or mixed natural and cultural reasons.

This Collection contains the descriptions of these sites, which are compiled and maintained by UNEP-WCMC on behalf of UNESCO.

Algeria Tassili N'Ajjer National Park Argentina Los Glaciares National Park Iguazú National Park Península Valdés Ischigualasto-Talampaya Australia Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area Kakadu National Park Willandra Lakes Region Tasmanian Wilderness Lord Howe Island Group Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site Shark Bay Fraser Island Australian Fossil Mammal Sites Heard Island and McDonald Islands MacQuarie Island Greater Blue Mountains Area Purnululu National Park Bangladesh Sundarbans Belarus/Poland Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park Bialowieza Forest Belize Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System Bolivia Noel Kempff Mercado National Park Brazil Iguacu National Park Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves Southeast Atlantic Forest Reserves Jaú National Park Pantanal Conservation Complex Brazilian Atlantic Islands Cerrado Protected Areas Central Amazonian Conservation Complex Bulgaria Srebarna Nature Reserve Pirin National Park Cameroon Dja Faunal Reserve Canada Nahanni National Park Reserve Dinosaur Provincial Park Wood Buffalo National Park Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks Gros Morne National Park Miguasha Provincial Park Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park Waterton Lakes National Park Central African Republic Manovo-Gounda-St Floris National Park China Mount Taishan Scenic Beauty and Historic Interest Zone Mount Huangshan Scenic Beauty and Historic Interest Site Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area Huanglong National Scenic Area Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area Mount Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha Mount Wuyi Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries Colombia Los Katíos National Park Malpelo Island Flora and Fauna Sanctuary Costa Rica Isla del Coco Marine and Terrestrial Conservation Area Area de Conservación Guanacaste Côte d'Ivoire Taï National Park Comoé National Park Croatia Plitvice Lakes National Park Cuba Desembarco del Granma National Park Alejandro de Humbodlt National Park Democratic Republic of Congo Virunga National Park Kahuzi-Biéga National Park Garamba National Park Salonga National Park Okapi Faunal Reserve Denmark Ilulissat Icefjord Dominica Morne Trois Pitons Ecuador Galápagos National Park & Galápagos Marine Resources Reserve Sangay National Park Egypt Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley) Ethiopia Simen National Park France Scandola Nature Reserve & Capes Girolata and Porto France and Spain Pyrenees-Mont Perdu Germany Messel Pit fossil site Greece Meteora Group of Monasteries Guatemala Tikal National Park Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve Honduras Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve Hungary and Slovakia Caves of Aggtelek and Slovak Karst India Kaziranga National Park Manas National Park Keoladeo (Bharatpur) National Park Sundarbans National Park Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Park Indonesia Komodo National Park Ujung Kulon National Park and Krakatau Nature Reserve Lorentz National Park Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra Italy Aeolian Islands Japan Yakushima (Yaku-Island) Shirakami-sanchi (Shirakami mountains) Shiretoko Kenya Mount Kenya National Park and National Forest Lake Turkana National Parks

Madagascar Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve Malawi Lake Malawi National Park Malaysia Gunung Mulu National Park Kinabalu Park Mali Cliffs of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) Mauritania Banc d'Arguin National Park Mexico Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaíno Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California Mongolia Uvs Nuur Basin Nepal Sagarmatha National Park Royal Chitwan National Park New Zealand Te Wahipounamu (South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area) Tongariro National Park Subantarctic Islands Niger Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves 'W' National Park Norway West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord Oman Arabian Oryx Sanctuary Panama Darién National Park Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection Peru Historic Sanctuary of Macchu Picchu *Under Review by UNEP* Huascaran National Park Manu National Park Rio Abiseo National Park Philippines Tubbataha Reef Marine Park Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park Portugal Floresta Laurissilva da Madeira Romania Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Russian Federation Virgin Komi Forests Lake Baikal Basin Volcanoes of Kamchatka Golden Mountains of Altai Western Caucasus Central Sikhote-Alin Saint Lucia Pitons Management Area Senegal Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary Niokolo-Koba National Park Serbia and Montenegro Durmitor National Park Seychelles Aldabra Atoll Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve Slovenia Skocjan Caves Regional Park Solomon Islands East Rennell South Africa Greater St Lucia Wetland Park uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park Cape Floral Protected Areas Vredefort Dome Spain Garajonay National Park Doñana National Park Salinas de Ibiza y Formentera Nature Reserve Teide National Park Sri Lanka Sinharaja Forest Reserve Suriname Central Suriname Nature Reserve Sweden Lapponian Area Kvarken Archipelago / High Coast Switzerland Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn Monte San Giorgio Thailand Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary Dong Phayayan Khao-Yai Forest Complex Tunisia Ichkeul National Park Turkey Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappodocia Hierapolis-Pamukkale Uganda Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park United Kingdom Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast St Kilda (Hirta) National Nature Reserve Henderson Island Gough Island Wildlife Reserve Dorset and East Devon Coast United Republic of Tanzania Ngorongoro Conservation Area Serengeti National Park Selous Game Reserve Kilimanjaro National Park United States of America Yellowstone National Park Everglades National Park Grand Canyon National Park Redwood National Park Mammoth Cave National Park Olympic National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park Yosemite National Park Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Carlsbad Caverns National Park Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Venezuela Canaima National Park Vietnam Ha Long Bay Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Zambia/Zimbabwe Victoria Falls National Park Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls Zimbabwe Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas

Citation

M, U. (2012). Natural World Heritage Sites (collection). Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Natural_World_Heritage_Sites_(collection)