From rainforests to reefs: New World Heritage Sites signal conservation breakthroughs

Africa shone brightly at the 47th World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, with Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau earning their first listed sites and Mozambique their first nature listing. Lao PDR and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also had their first natural sites announced, and outstanding geological sites were recognised in Brazil and Denmark. The Committee highlighted the Eastern Mongolian Steppes as a future conservation priority, with a roadmap towards listing within the next three years, also responding to IUCN’s recommendations.

“The decisions to protect these outstanding places are a source of hope, recognising huge national and local efforts, and advancing global goals for nature conservation”, said Tim Badman, Director of World Heritage at IUCN. “IUCN welcomes the strong and successful World Heritage bids from across the planet. We also welcome Mongolia’s commitments to protect a future vast steppe area as World Heritage.” 

Three out of the seven newly listed sites are located in Africa. 

“Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Mozambique celebrate their first natural sites today, representing a major milestone for the international recognition of natural heritage in Africa”, said Youssouph Diedhiou, IUCN World Heritage Panel member, at the Committee’s session at UNESCO Headquarters.

The World Heritage Committee meeting continues until 16th July.

The natural and mixed sites added to the World Heritage List are: 

Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of the Bijagós Archipelago – Omatí Minhô, Guinea Bissau

Hosting around 50,000 green sea turtle nests and up to 850,000 migrating birds annually, the Bijagós is one of the most important marine and intertidal archipelagos on the African continent. 

The inscription of the Bijagós Archipelago - Omatí Minhô represents a major milestone for Guinea Bissau, as the country’s first World Heritage site. 

Gola-Tiwai Complex, Sierra Leone

A refuge for the Western chimpanzee, pygmy hippopotamus and many other globally threatened species, Gola-Tiwai represents one of the last and largest remaining intact blocks in the Upper Guinean Rainforests of West Africa. 

The inscription of Gola-Tiwai Complex represents a major milestone for Sierra Leone as the country’s first World Heritage site. 

Hin Nam No National Park, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) – A transboundary extension of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Viet Nam

An area of significant terrestrial and subterranean biodiversity and geodiversity, the extensive caves and karst forest of Hin Nam No host many highly adapted, relict and locally endemic species, including those restricted to single peaks or cave systems. Together with Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, this area represents one of the best tropical karst systems globally with an extraordinary diversity of caves, including the largest active river cave passage globally (Xe Bang Fai Cave). 

Hin Nam No National Park represents Lao PDR’s first and only natural World Heritage site currently. 

Mount Kumgang – Diamond Mountain from the Sea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DRPK)

A beautiful mountain landscape of dramatic peaks, waterfalls and pools that change colour through the seasons. This dramatic scenery is integral to the Korean Buddhist heritage of the landscape and has been inscribed onto the World Heritage List for its superlative aesthetic natural beauty. 

Mount Kumgang represents DPRK’s first and only natural World Heritage site currently. 

Maputo National Park, Mozambique – A transboundary extension of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa

A mosaic of vibrant and biodiverse coral reefs, white sandy beaches and extensive seagrass meadows, this transboundary site represents one of the most outstanding coastal wetlands in Africa. Large aggregations of nesting sea turtles, flocks of breeding flamingos and other globally important and threatened waterfowl can be found here. 

Maputo National Park represents Mozambique’s first and only natural World Heritage site currently. 

Møns Klint, Denmark

The coastal chalk cliffs of Møns Klint represent a remarkably complete glaciotectonic complex which provides important insights into the ancient climatic processes of the Pleistocene. 

This inscription marks Denmark’s 4th World Heritage Site. 

Peruaçu River Canyon, Brazil

Peruaçu National Park represents a vast terrain of karst canyons and caves, amongst which extraordinary speleothems, beautiful skylights and extensive cave collapses can be found. 

This inscription marks Brazil’s 9th natural World Heritage Site. 

About IUCN and the World Heritage Convention

Since the inception of the World Heritage Convention in 1972, IUCN has played a unique role as the official advisory body under the World Heritage Convention on natural World Heritage. This involves leading the technical recommendation of all new nominations of natural and mixed World Heritage sites, monitoring the status of existing natural and mixed World Heritage sites and the newly added Preliminary Assessment process to provide direct advice on the feasibility of potential nominations to States Parties.

IUCN also works independently on the Convention to support World Heritage sites globally through its extensive network of programmes and policies led by the central IUCN Secretariat team, expert commissions and member organisations.

The IUCN World Heritage Outlook is the most comprehensive global assessment of World Heritage sites inscribed for their nature conservation values. Based on in-depth, evidence-based site assessments (Conservation Outlook Assessments), the World Heritage Outlook provides site managers, decision-makers and other stakeholders a basis for targeted conservation action.

Find out more about IUCN's work on World Heritage here.

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