Natural World Heritage

August 2016

1 out of 5 World Heritage sites is natural There are 238 natural World Heritage sites,

representing 23% of all 1052 sites listed as

World Heritage. Out of these, 35 sites are

mixed - both natural and cultural - and

203 are natural.

286m ha.of land and sea of land and sea Natural World Heritage protects over 286 million Natural World Heritage protects over 286 million

hectares of land and sea. This covers hectares of land and sea. This covers

of the of the total areatotal area covered by over covered by over

200,000 recorded protected areas 200,000 recorded protected areas

of the total of the total land arealand area covered by all covered by all

recorded terrestrial recorded terrestrial protected areasprotected areas

of the total of the total sea areasea area covered by all covered by all

recorded marine recorded marine protected areasprotected areas

102 countrieswith natural World with natural World Heritage sites 8 in the Arab States

42 in Africa

42 in Latin America and the Caribbean

72 in Europe and North America

74 in Asia and the Pacifi c

In 43 countries the extent of World

Heritage sites is more than 10% of all

national protected areas

18 sitesin danger in danger Currently, 18 natural World Heritage sites are Currently, 18 natural World Heritage sites are on the List of World Heritage in Dangeron the List of World Heritage in Danger

111 forest sites 49 marine sites

16 transboundary

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

Facts and fi gures 2016

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WORLD HERITAGE FACTS

Top 10 countries with Top 10 countries with the largest World the largest World Heritage coverageHeritage coverage

CountryTotal area

(ha)1

% of protected

areas2

1 USA 46,513,654 12.8%

2 Australia 45,616,424 9.9%

3 Kiribati 40,825,813 99.8%

4 Russia 23,432,990 12.5%

5 Ecuador 14,948,879 77.6%

6 Canada 10,752,043 11%

7 Niger 8,092,128 39.3%

8 Algeria 7,571,268 43.4%

9 Tanzania 6,972,264 22.6%

10Democratic Republic

of the Congo6,895,266 23.1%

1. UNEP-WCMC (2016) Global Statistics from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA): February 2016. Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC. All areas are calculated from GIS boundaries using the Mollweide equal area projection for consistency.2.Data includes all designated protected areas recorded in WDPA (including land, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, February 2016) except for UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserves.

Top 10 biggest natural Top 10 biggest natural World Heritage sites World Heritage sites

Site CountryTotal area

(ha)

1Phoenix Islands

Protected AreaKiribati 40,825,813

2 Papahānaumokuākea USA 36,479,268

3 Great Barrier Reef Australia 34,823,325

4 Galápagos Ecuador 14,696,203

5Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias /

Glacier Bay /

Tatshenshini-Alsek

USA /

Canada9,728,368

6 Lake Baikal Russia 8,550,838

7Aïr and Ténéré Natural

ReservesNiger 7,869,613

8 Tassili n’Ajjer Algeria 7,571,268

9Central Amazon

Conservation ComplexBrazil 5,131,312

10 Selous Game Reserve Tanzania 4,751,807

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

WORLD HERITAGE FACTS

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