Gland, Switzerland , 12 July 2006 (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.

Notes to the editors

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

In Switzerland:

• Carolin Wahnbaeck, Global Media Relations Officer, The World Conservation Union (IUCN),
  Tel: +41 22 999 0127, e-mail: carolin.wahnbaeckiucn.org, www.iucn.org
• Sarah Gindre, Protected Areas Programme, The World Conservation Union (IUCN),
  Tel: +41 22 999 0161, e-mail: sarah.gindreiucn.org, www.iucn.org

In Vilnius, Lithuania:

• Georgina Peard, World Heritage Officer, The World Conservation Union (IUCN),
  Mobile: +41 79 219 4407, , e-mail: georgina.peardiucn.org, www.iucn.org
  

Photos are available at: http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/wheritage/wh2006photos/whphotos2006.html

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