Story | 02 Feb, 2020
Cold Winter Deserts of Central Asia among potential World Heritage sites, new IUCN report finds
Cold Winter Deserts in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are among six globally significant biodiversity sites in Central Asia that could potentially qualify for World Heritage status, according to a new report launched today by IUCN, the official advisor on natural World Heritage.
Story | 05 Dec, 2019
IUCN-outsourced paper finds no proof Rufiji dam project can meet Tanzania’s development needs
A strategic environmental assessment meant to guide decisions on the Rufiji hydropower project in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve World Heritage site is completely inadequate, according to an independent technical review commissioned and issued today by IUCN. The document does not assess the…
Story | 28 Nov, 2019
Experts call attention to the key role of World Heritage in meeting biodiversity objectives
Experts convened by IUCN have issued a statement on how World Heritage contributes to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This includes recommendations specific to World Heritage and its relevance to biodiversity. Negotiations to develop the framework, which will be adopted by the…
Story | 05 Sep, 2019
Cities launch park-based programmes to reap health, biodiversity, and financial harvest
Urban biodiversity and healthy natural ecosystems offer a range of benefits to human society, including providing cleaner water, reducing flood risk and storing carbon.
Story | 15 Jul, 2019
UNESCO’s annual World Heritage Committee meeting concluded on 10 July. After gathering input from the IUCN delegation he headed at the Committee, Peter Shadie, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme, captures some take-home messages from the meeting.
Story | 04 Jul, 2019
Hundreds of assessors and reviewers to take part in the IUCN World Heritage Outlook 3
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is gathering input from experts around the globe to complete a new cycle of assessments for the IUCN World Heritage Outlook 3. This flagship IUCN report on natural World Heritage will be published in 2020, together with assessments for…
Press release | 03 Jul, 2019
The looming extinction of the vaquita puts Gulf of California on World Heritage danger list
The World Heritage Committee today followed IUCN’s advice to list Mexico’s Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California as a World Heritage site in danger. The site’s population of vaquitas – the world’s smallest and most endangered species of porpoise – has been decimated due to the…
Story | 01 Jul, 2019
IUCN report makes new proposals for listing World Heritage volcanoes
Eighteen volcanic landscapes around the globe are the most likely candidates for future inscription on the World Heritage List, according to a new IUCN study launched today at UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meeting in Azerbaijan.
Publication | 2019
Volcanoes are true wonders of the planet; they are central to the formation, evolution and sustenance of biological systems; they form some of our deepest and most significant cultural attachments to the land; and they attract large numbers of visitors for their aesthetic appeal. Although the…
IUCN Statement | 27 Jun, 2019
Selous reserve could lose World Heritage status if dam project goes ahead – IUCN
The Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania faces irreversible damage if plans to build the Stiegler’s Gorge dam go ahead, according to IUCN – the official advisor on natural World Heritage. Ultimately, this could lead to the reserve being removed from the World Heritage List, IUCN warns ahead of next…