International Designations
Some very special areas are recognised simultaneously under several international designations, all of which have environmental conservation at their heart. These include Ramsar Sites and World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, UNESCO Global Geoparks, and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. IUCN develops tools and guidance to strengthen management effectiveness of international designations, harmonize the integrated management of overlapping designations, and simplify national reporting requirements where possible.
International Designations – Challenges and Opportunities
An Internationally Designated Area (IDA) is a natural area internationally recognised by a global or regional designation mechanism. As of 2025, there are well over 3,500 IDAs, including about 250 natural World Heritage sites, 800 Biosphere Reserves, 250 Global Geoparks, 2500 Ramsar Wetlands, and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). Each of these International Designations have unique objectives and have their own governing bodies which developed specific procedures and reporting requirements for national governments.
As the number of internationally designated areas grows, overlaps between multiple designations (so-called Multi-Internationally Designated Areas or MIDAs) are becoming increasingly common—over half of natural and mixed World Heritage sites overlap with at least one other designation.
Benefits of MIDAs may include enhanced visibility and tourism potential, while they can support fundraising, transboundary cooperation, and inter-institutional collaboration. Challenges come to the fore when different national authorities are in charge of the same area, and no harmonised legal or administrative framework exists, let alone a coordination mechanism fine-tuning the policies and intervention activities of the various responsible institutions. Differing reporting requirements in terms of depth of information and time cycles solicited by international bodies may pose a heavy workload on site managers and national authorities.
IUCN’s work on internationally designated areas
IUCN aims to make a significant contribution to advancing the global management effectiveness of MIDAs, strengthening their role in protecting the planet's most recognized natural areas while addressing the challenges posed by multiple, overlapping international designations.
Our work includes:
- Developing guidance for managing MIDAs and recommendations for addressing challenges
- Capturing data and potential for collaboration between MIDAs within the 4th edition of the World Heritage Outlook
- Improving management effectiveness of Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage sites through the Green List Standard, including the Biosphere Reserve Island San Pedro Mártir (Mexico)
- Official advisor for nature to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention
- Support sustainable ecosystem management in Biosphere Reserves through the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) Biosphere Reserves Thematic Group
- IUCN is a non-voting member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council and supports the recognition of geodiversity and geoheritage conservation
- IUCN is closely linked to the Ramsar Convention since its inception. IUCN holds the formal status of International Organization Partner (IOP) since 1999, provides expert technical advice, assists with field-level implementation, and participates as an observer in key Ramsar meetings, including the Conference of the Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Scientific and Technical Review Panel.
