International News

2011 is International Year of Forests

01/3/2011. The World Heritage Centre welcomes the International Year of Forests. With 100 WH sites recognized wholly, or in part, for their rich forest biodiversity, the WH Convention is the most effective intergovernmental convention for the in-situ conservation of forest biodiversity. Today, over 760,000 square kilometres (nearly 300,000 square miles), or 1.5 times the surface area of France, or slightly larger that the state of Texas, are strictly protected as World Heritage Forests.

The World Heritage Forest network is diverse and rich. Home to the largest remaining populations of Bengal tigers, vast mangrove forests are protected in the Sundarbans (India, Bangladesh). In Peru, Manu National Park is home to 10% of all of the world's bird species. The endangered Eastern (Mountain) Gorillas survive almost exclusively in three WH Forest sites: Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda).

This is only a tiny sample of how World Heritage forests are often the main refuge for endangered animal and plant species worldwide. Beyond biodiversity conservation, these forests all play a key role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration / storage (in their biomass, but also in the organic soils over which they grow) - they are critical components in the global response to climate change concerns. As areas where plant and animal species are generally able to live through their natural life cycles unmolested, World Heritage forests also serve as rich centres of dispersal of species into the broader landscapes, increasing the biological resilience of disturbed landscapes and of nearby protected areas.

The World Heritage Convention protects vast tracts of temperate and boreal forests as well, including Lake Baikal (Russian Federation), Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada) and Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest (shared between Poland and Belarus). A 2006 IUCN study concluded that though forests were well represented on the World Heritage list, some gaps remained. The World Heritage Centre will continue to work with countries interested in filling those gaps, in an effort to ensure that all forests of Outstanding Universal Value benefit from the intergovernmental conservation support provided by the Convention.

In 2011, the World Heritage Centre will release its second and expanded "State of World Heritage Forests" report, following up on the first such report in 2005. Click here for more information on the World Heritate Forest Programme.



2011 is International Year of Forests 01/3/2011. The World Heritage Centre welcomes the International Year of Forests. With 100 WH sites recognized wholly, or in part, for their rich forest biodiversity, the WH Convention is the most effective intergovernmental convention for the in-situ conservation of forest biodiversity. Today, over 760,000 square kilometres (nearly 300,000 square miles), or 1.5 times the surface area of France, or slightly larger that the state of Texas, are strictly protected as World Heritage Forests. The World Heritage Forest network is diverse and rich. Home to the largest remaining populations of Bengal tigers, vast mangrove forests are protected in the Sundarbans (India, Bangladesh). In Peru, Manu National Park is home to 10% of all of the world's bird species. The endangered Eastern (Mountain) Gorillas survive almost exclusively in three WH Forest sites: Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda). This is only a tiny sample of how World Heritage forests are often the main refuge for endangered animal and plant species worldwide. Beyond biodiversity conservation, these forests all play a key role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration / storage (in their biomass, but also in the organic soils over which they grow) - they are critical components in the global response to climate change concerns. As areas where plant and animal species are generally able to live through their natural life cycles unmolested, World Heritage forests also serve as rich centres of dispersal of species into the broader landscapes, increasing the biological resilience of disturbed landscapes and of nearby protected areas. The World Heritage Convention protects vast tracts of temperate and boreal forests as well, including Lake Baikal (Russian Federation), Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada) and Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest (shared between Poland and Belarus). A 2006 IUCN study concluded that though forests were well represented on the World Heritage list, some gaps remained. The World Heritage Centre will continue to work with countries interested in filling those gaps, in an effort to ensure that all forests of Outstanding Universal Value benefit from the intergovernmental conservation support provided by the Convention. In 2011, the World Heritage Centre will release its second and expanded "State of World Heritage Forests" report, following up on the first such report in 2005. Click here for more information on the World Heritate Forest Programme.	Rescuing DR Congo’s natural heritage focus of upcoming UN meeting 5 January 2011 –The United Nations and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will hold a meeting next week to discuss ways of better protecting five sites from the vast African nation that are inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The five sites in danger are Virunga, Garamba, Kahuzi-Biega, and Salonga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, which are home to a unique range of flora and fauna including the Mountain Gorilla and the Okapi – a forest giraffe only found in DRC. The sites have suffered from political instability in the Great Lakes region over the past two decades, according to a news release issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “The continued insecurity due to the presence of armed groups and the proliferation of arms as well as a general break down of law and order have lead to massive poaching,” states the Paris-based agency. Among other things, the Northern White Rhino, which had its home in the Garamba National Park, is feared to have been hunted into extinction, while the numbers of the Okapi and elephant populations are seriously declining. The 14 January high-level meeting will take place in the capital, Kinshasa, and be chaired by the Prime Minister of DRC, Adolphe Muzito, and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. Participants, which will include representatives of government, non-governmental organizations and donors, will examine the state of the sites, reinforce the commitment to their restoration and safeguarding by Congolese authorities, redefine support provided by the international community and adopt a plan of action to strengthen protection.

Rescuing DR Congo’s natural heritage focus of upcoming UN meeting