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  IUCN 12 Jul 06
Giant Panda Sanctuary, Malpelo Island and Kvarken Archipelago inscribed on World Heritage List

IUCN 12 Jul 06
Sumatran Rainforest not on World Heritage in danger list, despite escalating threats

PlanetArk 13 Jul 06
China Giant Panda Sanctuary Put on UN Heritage List
Story by Darius James Ross

IUCN 5 Jul 06
The World Conservation Union recommends three new sites for inscription on World Heritage List

World Heritage Committee will take decisions next week at its 30th session in Vilnius, Lithuania

Gland , Switzerland (IUCN): China's Giant Panda Sanctuaries, the species rich Pacific waters surrounding Colombia's Malpelo Island , and the uplifting Kvarken Archipelago of Finland are the three natural sites that IUCN recommends for inscription on the World Heritage List this year.

These recommendations are based on a rigorous year-long evaluation process, including expert missions to all sites, and wide consultation. The World Heritage Committee will consider 37 new cultural and natural sites nominated for UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage List at its meeting in Vilnius , Lithuania from 8-16 July 2006.

As the official advisory body on natural World Heritage sites, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) will present recommendations to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on the eight natural and two mixed sites (both natural and cultural) applying for World Heritage status this year.

These sites are located in Azerbaijan, China, Colombia, Finland, Gabon, Indonesia, Israel, Malawi, Malaysia, Morocco, and Spain.

IUCN will also propose action to take for other World Heritage sites under threat.

Sites under threat

Out of 184 natural and mixed World Heritage sites, currently 15 feature on the List of World Heritage in Danger, endangered by dam construction, war, poaching, deforestation, and poor management, amongst other issues.

Amongst the sites IUCN will report on are the Garamba National Park (Democratic Republic of Congo), in danger of loosing the last Northern white rhino alive in the wild; the so-called 'Three Parallel Rivers' of Yunnan (China), possibly threatened by dam construction; the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) whose unique biodiversity is in jeopardy by fishing and invasive species; and Sumatra's Tropical Rainforest (Indonesia), endangered by extensive deforestation and agricultural encroachment.

Following field missions to a large number of sites, IUCN will be advising the Committee to make strong statements to governments and to call for international collaboration and support in relation to sites under threat.

Climate Change

With climate change high on the international agenda, next week's meeting will look at ways in which World Heritage sites can be affected and possible response strategies that might build on the collaborative network and flagship functions of the Convention.

Outstanding Universal Value

With many countries striving to achieve World Heritage status for their heritage sites, the Committee will debate the interpretation and application of the concept of "Outstanding Universal Value", the standard required for a site to attain World Heritage status.

IUCN believes that the credibility of the Convention lies in ensuring that only the very best, globally important sites are inscribed on the World Heritage List. IUCN will present a paper to the Committee next week outlining its position and proposals for ensuring a technical, non-biased approach to evaluating nominated sites and assessing "Outstanding Universal Value".

PlanetArk 13 Jul 06
China Giant Panda Sanctuary Put on UN Heritage List
Story by Darius James Ross

July 13, 2006 VILNIUS - A bamboo-covered mountainous sanctuary in China which houses nearly a third of the world's last remaining giant pandas was on Wednesday added to the UN World Heritage List.

The United Nations Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage committee, meeting in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, said the rare bears must be protected.

"The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary in China, home to over 30 percent of the world's endangered giant pandas, was inscribed on the World Heritage List on Wednesday," a UNESCO official said. "It is the largest remaining contiguous habitat of the giant panda and the most important captive breeding ground for the animal," added the official, who did not want to be named.

The prestigious listing obliges authorities to protect the natural habitat. Chinese conservationists praised the decision as a step towards protecting the shy symbols of China's disappearing wilderness.

"To protect an animal is not just putting it living in the zoo, but keeping it alive in its home," Lu Zhi, a professor at Peking University who specializes in pandas, told China's official Xinhua news agency.

A statement from UNESCO is expected later on Wednesday. The animal is on the red list of threatened animals of the World Conservation Union.

ENDANGERED SPECIES

The Chinese sanctuary across mountainous western Sichuan province covers more than 2 million acres. It is also home to other endangered species such as the red panda, snow leopard and clouded leopard, and botanically is one of the richest areas in the world, the UNESCO official said.

Recently, Chinese and British scientists announced that giant pandas may not be as close to extinction as feared after finding there could be almost twice as many living in the wild as thought.

Scientists had previously estimated there were about 1,590 giant pandas living in reserves in China. But the researchers estimated there could be as many as 3,000 there after a survey using a new method to profile DNA from panda dung.

UNESCO's World Heritage list of cultural and natural heritage features more than 800 sites around the planet. The UNESCO committee will meet until Sunday and is expected to consider adding several new cultural sites to the list, as well as steps to encourage conservation of endangered sites.

IUCN 12 Jul 06
Giant Panda Sanctuary, Malpelo Island and Kvarken Archipelago inscribed on World Heritage List

Recommendations of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) adopted by World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania

Gland, Switzerland (IUCN) – Based on technical advice of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) t he UNESCO World Heritage Committee has inscribed three natural sites on the World Heritage List today.

The sites include the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary – Wolong, Mt. Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains ( China ); Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary ( Colombia ); and the Kvarken Archipelago ( Finland ), an extension to the High Coast of Sweden ( Sweden ).

Following a year long, rigorous process, IUCN, the technical advisory body on natural heritage to the World Heritage Committee, presented the results of its evaluations of 9 nominated properties today. The World Heritage Committee is currently meeting in Vilnius , Lithuania.

The Committee applauded the tremendous efforts of China for their excellent nomination protecting key habitat for the endangered Giant Panda. This nomination was presented for the first time some 20 years ago, but the Government of China was requested to bring forward a larger nomination and address management issues, which it did successfully.

“This is a great success for China , the World Heritage Convention and for conservation in general,” said David Sheppard , Head of the IUCN delegation in Vilnius . “It shows how the World Heritage Convention can encourage governments to ensure the greatest level of protection for globally important sites.”

The newly inscribed Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary of Colombia forms part of the critical marine biological corridor with the Galapagos, Cocos and Coiba Islands World Heritage sites. Its extensive marine area of 857,150 ha is the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and is considered of huge value to maintain and replenish populations of threatened and endangered marine species. The site is known for impressive aggregations of species such as hammerhead shark, whale shark and tuna, and is considered one of the top diving sites in the world.

The coastline of Finland ’s Kvarken Archipelago was recognized by the World Heritage Committee for its global value in demonstrating the Earth’s geological processes. The site is an extension of the High Coast of Sweden World Heritage site because of the dramatic uplift of the earth’s crust following the retreat of the last ice age glaciers in this area some 10,000 years ago.

The Committee also decided not to inscribe or to defer other nominated natural sites, either because they do not meet the Convention’s criteria of global significance, or because they do not currently meet the required standards of conservation.

For example, following IUCN’s recommendation, the Committee decided to defer a decision on the tropical rainforest of Borneo until Indonesia and Malaysia have adequately addressed ongoing threats, such as illegal logging, and transboundary management challenges.

The one million hectare tropical rainforest ecosystem protects the last remaining natural habitat of up to 4,000 endangered Bornean orangutans. Sumatran Rainforest not on World Heritage danger list, despite escalating threats

Furthermore, the World Heritage Committee took decisions on the state of conservation of several World Heritage sites. It decided not to inscribe the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra on the “World Heritage in Danger” list, despite escalating threats to the site. A recent mission by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) had shown that the site is seriously threatened by agricultural encroachment, extensive deforestation and proposed road development.

However, the Committee will consider danger listing in 2007 if no progress has been made in addressing the threats to the site.

On a more positive note, the Committee removed two African wetland sites from the danger list, the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary ( Senegal ) and Ichkeul National Park ( Tunisia ). The number of natural World Heritage sites in danger has therefore been reduced from 15 to 13. The danger list is for sites which are threatened by serious and specific danger and require major action for their conservation.

After today’s decisions by the 30 th session of the World Heritage Committee, the World Heritage List now includes 162 natural properties. The Committee continues to meet in Vilnius until the 16 July and is also considering the inscription of cultural sites onto the UNESCO List. Further information on the most recent decisions on the World Heritage in Danger: IUCN press release http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2006/07/12_pr_world_heritage_soc.htm

After today’s decisions by the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee, the World Heritage List now includes 162 natural properties. The Committee continues to meet in Vilnius until the 16 July and is also considering the inscription of cultural sites onto the UNESCO List.

Further information on inscribed sites:

Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary, Wolong, Mount Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains (China)

The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary covers 924,500 ha including seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks in the Qionglai and Jiajin Mountains. The Sanctuary includes more than 30% of the world's population of giant panda, listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and constitutes the largest remaining contiguous area of panda habitat in the world. It is also the most important source of giant panda for establishing the captive breeding population of the species. In addition, the Sanctuary is home to species such as the red panda, the snow leopard and clouded leopard (all threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List), and is one of the botanically richest sites of any temperate region in the world or indeed anywhere outside the tropical rain forests, with between 5,000 and 6,000 species of flora in over 1,000 genera.

Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary (Colombia)

Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary is located some 500 km off the coast of Colombia, and includes Malpelo island (350 ha) and the surrounding marine environment (857,150 ha). This vast marine park, the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, provides critical habitat for internationally threatened marine species, and is a major source of nutrients resulting in large aggregations of marine biodiversity. It is in particular a ‘reservoir’ for sharks, giant grouper and billfish and is one of the few places in the world where sightings of the short-nosed ragged–toothed shark, a deepwater shark, have been confirmed. Widely recognized as one of the top diving sites in the world, due to the presence of steep walls and caves of outstanding natural beauty, these deep waters support important populations of large predators and pelagic species (e.g. aggregations of over 200 hammerhead sharks and over 1000 silky sharks, whale sharks and tuna have been recorded) in an undisturbed environment where they maintain natural behavioral patterns. Furthermore, this island supports important populations of endangered bird species such as the swallow-tailed gull, masked booby, and Hawaiian petrel.

Kvarken Archipelago (Finland)

The Kvarken Archipelago, situated in the Gulf of Bothnia off the coast of Finland, includes 5600 islands and islets, split into two core areas covering a total of 194,400 ha (15% land and 85% sea). The major feature is the unusual ridged washboard moraines, or “De Greer moraines”, formed by the melting of the continental ice sheet, between 10,000 – 24,000 years ago. The Archipelago is continuously rising from the sea in a process of rapid glacio-isostatic uplift, whereby the land, previously weighed down under the weight of a glacier, lifts at rates that are among the highest in the world. As a consequence of the advancing shoreline, islands appear and unite, peninsulas expand, lakes evolve from bays and develop into marshes and peat fens. This property is essentially a “type area” for research on isostacy; the phenomenon having been first recognized and studied here. This site more than doubles the size of the property already inscribed on the World Heritage List as the High Coast of Sweden, and makes up a serial transboundary property of both Finland and Sweden, to be known as High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago (Sweden/Finland), covering a total area of 336,900 ha.

IUCN 12 Jul 06
Sumatran Rainforest not on World Heritage in danger list, despite escalating threats

The World Heritage Committee debates the state of natural World Heritage sites: Sumatran Rainforest faces escalating threats, but African wetland sites out of danger

Gland, Switzerland , 12 July 2006 (IUCN) - The World Heritage Committee, meeting this week in Vilnius , Lithuania , decided not to inscribe the threatened Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra on the “World Heritage in Danger” list.

The site is seriously threatened by agricultural encroachment, extensive deforestation and proposed road development, as a recent mission by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) had shown.

However, the Committee will consider danger listing in 2007 if no progress has been made in addressing the threats to the site. Furthermore, the Committee removed two African wetland sites from the danger list, reducing the number of natural danger sites from 15 to 13, out of 160 natural World Heritage properties. The danger list is for sites which are threatened by serious and specific danger and require major action for their conservation.

Number of World Heritage sites in danger reduced to 13

Following its monitoring mission to the site, IUCN, the official advisory body on natural World Heritage sites had recommended inscribing the Sumatran Rainforest site on the danger list.

IUCN believes that danger listing would have helped draw attention to the urgent conservation needs of this remarkable biodiversity hotspot and help mobilize the necessary resources for developing and implementing an emergency action plan.

The 2.5 million hectare Sumatran Rainforest World Heritage site comprises three national parks: Gunung Leuser National Park , Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park . The site holds the greatest potential for long term conservation of the distinctive and diverse biota of Sumatra , including many endangered species. It is home to an estimated 10,000 plant species, some 580 bird species, and more than 200 mammal species, including the Sumatran orangutan.

At the same time, the World Heritage Committee removed Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary ( Senegal ) and Ichkeul National Park ( Tunisia ) from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Djoudi National Bird Sanctuary comprises a large lake, which together with its surrounding wetland ecosystems, provides a sanctuary to over 1.5 million birds including the white pelican. Similarly, the Ichkeul wetland and lake are a major stopover point for hundreds of thousands of migrating birds, such as the pink flamingoes.

IUCN informed the Committee that considerable improvements have been made in the regeneration of both wetland ecosystems; however IUCN also stressed that continued and major efforts are still needed to protect these sites.

Following a long debate about the ecological restoration of the sites and the adequacy of current conservation commitments from the responsible governments, the Committee decided to reward the work done to date and to encourage continued efforts.

The progress with these commitments will be examined at the next session of the Committee in one year. The Committee also discussed the state of conservation of some 50 other natural and mixed World Heritage sites, for which IUCN had prepared detailed reports and recommendations, and requested a number of monitoring missions and specific actions from State Parties with sites under threat.
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