World Heritage Facts and Figures May 2011

There are 207 natural World Heritage Sites (180 classified as natural sites, and 27 mixed sites classified as both natural and cultural). 1

World Heritage Sites protect over 260 million hectares (ha) of land and sea. This figure amounts to around:

. 13.9% of the total area of all recorded protected areas . 21% of the total area of all recorded marine protected areas . An area equivalent to 15.1% of all IUCN categorized2 protected areas.

Of all areas listed as protected areas in the WDPA, World Heritage Sites include:

• 11% of the total protected area in the Pacific Region • 9% of the total protected area in Africa • 6.5% of the total protected area in Latin America and the Caribbean • 6% of the total protected area in the Arab States • 6% of the total protected area in and North America.

88 countries have an area designated as a natural or mixed World Heritage Site.

• In 22 countries the extent of World Heritage Sites is more than 25% of all protected areas • In 42 countries the extent of World Heritage Sites is more than 10% of all protected areas • More than half of the member states of the World Heritage Convention have no natural World Heritage Site.

The ten countries with the largest areas of natural and/or mixed World Heritage Sites are:

Country or Territory Total area of World World Heritage Area Heritage Sites (ha) as % of national Protected Areas3 1. United States of America 46,341,817 29% 2. Australia 44,135,913 41% 3. Kiribati 40,825,000 100% 4. Russian Federation 22,436,659 14% 5. Ecuador 14,338,439 70% 6. Canada 10,608,213 13% 7. Niger 7,956,000 98% 8. Tanzania, United Republic of 7,361,315 28% 9. Algeria 7,200,000 49% 10. Brazil 6,670,671 3%

The average area of a natural World Heritage Site is c. 1,257,000 ha (12,570 square kilometers). Excluding the very large Phoenix Islands Protected Areas, Papahānaumokuākea and Great Barrier Reef, the average size is c. 727,000 ha (7,270 square kilometers). The 40 largest World Heritage Sites are listed overleaf.

1 IUCN, June 2010 (Sources: UNEP IUCN World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The area figures used for the 40 largest sites are the figures currently recorded by UNESCO). The WDPA is a joint product of UNEP and IUCN, prepared by UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas working with governments and collaborating NGOs (www.wdpa.org). With the exception of the total figures for the number of natural and mixed sites, figures do not include new sites inscribed since July 2008. 2 IUCN identifies six categories of protected areas. CATEGORY Ia, Strict Nature Reserve: protected area managed mainly for science; CATEGORY Ib , Wilderness Area: protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection; CATEGORY II, National Park: protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation ; CATEGORY III, Natural Monument: protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features; CATEGORY IV, Habitat/Species Management Area: protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention ; CATEGORY V, Protected Landscape/Seascape: protected area managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation; CATEGORY VI, Managed Resource Protected Area: protected area managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems; 3 The figure for national protected areas refers to all areas noted in the WDPA. The 40 largest natural World Heritage Sites hectares 1. Phoenix Islands Protected Area (Kiribati 2010) 40,825,000 2. Papahānaumokuākea (United States of America 2010) 36,207,499 3. Great Barrier Reef (Australia 1981) 34,870,000 4. Galápagos Islands (Ecuador 1978) 14,066,514 5. Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek 9,839,121 (Canada / United States of America 1979) 6. (Russian Federation 1996) 8,800,000 7. Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves (Niger 1991) 7,736,000 8. Tassili n’Ajjer (Algeria 1982) 7,200,000 9. Central Amazon Conservation Complex (Brazil 2000) 5,323,018 10. Selous Game Reserve (United Republic of Tanzania 1982) 5,000,000 11. Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada 1983) 4,480,000 12. (Russian Federation 1996) 3,830,200 13. Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo 1984) 3,600,000 14. (Russian Federation 1995) 3,280,000 15. Canaima National Park (Venezuela 1994) 3,000,000 16. Te Wahipounamu, South West New Zealand (New Zealand 1990) 2,600,000 17. Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia 2004) 2,595,124 18. Lorentz National Park (Indonesia 1999) 2,350,000 19. Canadian Rocky Parks (Canada 1984) 2,306,884 20. Shark Bay, Western Australia (Australia 1991) 2,197,300 21. Kakadu National Park (Australia 1981) 1,979,766 22. (Russian Federation 2010) 1,887,251 23. Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (Mexico 2005) 1,837,912 24. Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park 1,740,000 (Central African Republic 1988) 25. Manú National Park (Peru 1987) 1,716,295 26. Golden of Altai (Russian Federation 1998) 1,611,457 27. Central Suriname Nature Reserve (Suriname 2000) 1,600,000 28. Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated 1,574,300 Ecosystems (France 2008) 29. Central Sikhote-Alin (Russian Federation 2001) 1,553,928 30. Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (Bolivia 2000) 1,523,446 31. Serengeti National Park (United Republic of Tanzania 1981) 1,476,300 32. Tasmanian Wilderness (Australia 1982) 1,407,513 33. Okapi Wildlife Reserve (Democratic Republic of the Congo 1996) 1,372,625 34. Banc d'Arguin National Park (Mauritania 1989) 1,200,000 35. Comoé National Park (Côte d'Ivoire 1983) 1,150,000 36. Greater Blue Mountains Area (Australia 2000) 1,032,649 37. The Wadden Sea (Germany / The Netherlands 2009) 968,393 38. Laponian Area (Sweden 1996) 940,000 39. Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (China 2003) 939,441 40. Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries (China 2006) 924,500

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