IUCN’s work for World Heritage conservation
Iconic sites such as Yosemite National Park, the Galápagos Islands, the pyramids of Egypt, the medieval city of Bruges, or the Serengeti have received the highest level of international recognition: World Heritage designation. These sites tell our shared human story. They are irreplaceable. IUCN, the US government and UNESCO were instrumental in the creation of an international treaty to protect our common cultural and natural heritage, today known as “the most widely accepted international conservation treaty in human history”.
Since 1972, IUCN is the official advisor on nature under the World Heritage Convention. IUCN receives funding from UNESCO to cover a part of the basic annual work on evaluating nominations of new sites and monitoring of about 50 sites each year. Yet World Heritage is facing a funding crisis, and with your support we can do much more, including:
- Complete the 4th IUCN World Heritage Outlook, the most comprehensive global assessment of World Heritage sites inscribed for their nature conservation values made possible by hundreds of contributors
- Map potential candidate World Heritage sites and explore which ecosystems are missing on the World Heritage List
- Provide capacity building training to countries and site managers together with IUCN Members such as NPS, USAID, USFS and others
- Support international cooperation and exchange of knowledge between sites managed by the US National Park Service and elsewhere, building on the monumental legacy of the US in developing the World Heritage Convention which now protects over 1200 sites in over 165 countries
- Support conservation action on the ground focused on species conservation, management effectiveness, and data collection
Donate Here Please include “World Heritage” in the comment box or contact us for larger contributions.
More information about the US World Heritage sites is available here and here.
Learn more about IUCN’s work for World Heritage conservation.
World Heritage Updates
2024 World Heritage Update for USA and Canada
Following IUCN recommendations, the World Heritage Committee decided to retain Everglades National Park on the List of World Heritage in Danger, reiterated concern about the impact of a border wall on mammals in the Sonoran Desert, and welcomed the support of the USA in combatting the illegal totoaba bladder trade which threatens the vaquita in the Gulf of California. IUCN also issued a call for action and finance.
Read more: 2024 World Heritage update for USA and Canada – Story | IUCN
Building Global Collaboration for Park Conservation
Inspired by the surroundings of the Acadia National Park, an international workshop supported by IUCN identifies climate change capacity building and working with indigenous communities as priorities for a new capacity building program.
Read more: Building Global Collaboration for Park Conservation – Story | IUCN
2024 World Heritage anniversaries
IUCN North America celebrated the 45th World Heritage anniversary of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Everglades National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek.
Read more: Celebrating America’s Natural Heritage – Part I: A century-long restoration project – Story | IUCN
4th IUCN World Heritage Outlook
Work has started on the 4th edition of IUCN’s World Heritage Outlook, the most comprehensive assessment of World Heritage sites inscribed for their unique natural values. The World Heritage Outlook report is made possible by hundreds of contributors, and will be released in 2025 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress. World Heritage Outlook 3 concluded that conservation prospects remain positive for almost two thirds of assessed sites and identified climate change as the most prevalent threat.