A GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF PROTECTED AREAS ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE FOR BIODIVERSITY A contribution to the Global Theme Study of World Heritage Natural Sites DRAFT Text and Tables compiled by Gemma Smith and Janina Jakubowska Maps compiled by Ian May UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre Cambridge, UK July 2000 ‘®) @ © IUCN U—N7EP WCMC ArNeyD, A” ~ + Ve ACE para The World Conservation Union LOCH TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION DH OVHOWERWIEW he seas carers car eco ree rare cere eee ee TRUE ET SA OE ADEE RE, TEENS SOP DU) RIESE EU ee 1 2A OlmISSWESUIO\ © ONSIDE Ras sccsee ota eee se oe oe oaas cas ohsccssessuteehc dea tate sevcc ome eesie sees Seo en ane eal elena 1 S2OF WIFTATMISHEIODIWERS Ubvergectcse tecacsc cee sect ecve cic cours cccascs sac soca sreonsvasererer tras ponatT taeo oneee Se D AiO pPASSESSMENMB MEODHO le O G genes sicctacsacoe ces creccce cette sconce Sa a ee RT ES eC 3 510 *CURRENTAWOREDIHERUDAG E SIDE Sis-ctesccsecssesecccssncssncccssnieesssveceadsavestvnsetisecrtsetcee treencciosrete ecnosi r 4 5) CRITERION (lig) ese tect ates cot cee ra eee ca pce ae Fess cdoee ee onc oeee ae ea eee ae eS 4 eo WORED FERIAG ENS IME SHIN DANGER trsteccesesctsscee cre cset rote rste ere ee ee 4 SESH COASERS TUDDIES eererrae rae oes totes ca CU RU. OL OE ae oe Ne St tL Oe ee eee. eee 5 6.0 BIOGEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE .......ccccccsssesscesseesesesceescenseeesseesseeeees a) 6.1 UDVARDY BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCES ........::ccsceeeeesseeseeeseeees 5 6.2 BAILEY’S ECOREGIONS ..........:ccesceseeeseeees 6 7.0 KEY PRIORITISATION PROGRAMME AREAS....c<.s2.cscsseccsccsssccsseceseoccesscsssscsnseossoveseceseecessscsscessssonreoeess 6 Ele WIW GUOB ATE? 0 ONE COREGIONS oe ncscccecncssccste sacsc cccectecneces cees eavoseseaee reese gothS een Tee Te Te) AEENTRESIOEJRIFANT HD NVIERS Gnys (CBD) pesereesntecreses ees eese seeeo eccc treeSo etoe eaec ccernse 7.3, CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL — BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS ............2:cseseccessecesssceessssessecessesensnees 7.4 VAVILOV CENTRES OF PLANT GENETIC DIVERSITY ..........:ccsccccsccessscssccesscessesssccsecsscensscnssessecnsecsees Pe ENDEMICIBIRDIAR EAS (EEVAS) ieceeccrecr crete care eee eae SIO MREVSAREAS FORMIDENTIBIED SPECIES teste cece reer cree aee cae eee eee ee SHE sC RIMICATEYEENDANGERED MVAWA rescuer teeta et sam MNT Les hese suacsacacede sees taaeeeneessemee ee eee SD INVARINE MU RDEES ES ees eet oe eens SOE RES 2 OE UTE hE ID coe eke 9/0) INENSHABITPATBARE AS Het ee ee sien ne. J lnoniieet acwiel pls 2 lal geet). See F OS SRVANISIAIRAG IIE Sit eee mere ti grt Sacred ASA RI BN occ sae buses Cabee soa SSeEE SERS RS StL Sos «ESET EO OD RMARINEIB TOD VERSII vgecesscercec cece coce soe cooo ee coos es soSa Soe Saa SUNG Coen seo RET ROLES OT 9.3 REFERENCES TABLES TABLE 1. NATURAL AND MIXED WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE FOR BIODIVERSITY TABLE 2. NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES LISTED UNDER CRITERION IV TABLE 3. NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE FOR BIODIVERSITY INCLUDED IN THE LIST OF WORLD HERITAGE IN DANGER (NOVEMBER 1999) TABLE 4. WORLD HERITAGE SITE BY UDVARDY BIOGEOGRAPHIC PROVINCE. TABLE 5. UDVARDY BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCES NOT REPRESENTED BY WORLD HERITAGE SITES TABLE 6. WORLD HERITAGE SITES WITHIN CENTRES OF PLANT DIVERSITY (CPD) TABLE 7 REGIONAL CENTRES OF PLANT DIVERSITY NOT REPRESENTED IN THE CURRENT WORLD HERITAGE LIST TABLE 8. WORLD HERITAGE SITES WITHIN VAVILOV CENTRES OF PLANT GENETIC DIVERSITY TABLE 9. WORLD HERITAGE SITES WITHIN ENDEMIC BIRD AREAS TABLE 10. ENDEMIC BIRD AREAS NOT CONTAINING NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES TABLE 11. ENDEMIC BIRD AREAS PRIORITISED AS “CRITICAL” NOT CONTAINING NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES TABLE 12. WORLD HERITAGE SITES CONTAINING “CRITICALLY ENDANGERED” TAXA. TABLE 13. WORLD HERITAGE SITES THAT ARE ALSO LISTED UNDER THE RAMSAR CONVENTION (WETLANDS OF INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE). TABLE 14, POTENTIAL NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES TABLE 15. RAMSAR SITES THAT COULD MERIT FUTURE WORLD HERITAGE NOMINATION MAPS ANNEX |: CURRENT NATURAL AND MIXED WORLD HERITAGE SITES ANNEX 2. CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS —H IGH LEVEL OF ENDEMISAMND SPECIATION CASE STUDY: MANU NATIONAL PARK — HIGH LEVEL OF BIODIVERSITY CASE STUDY: BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK —K EY THREATENED SPECIES ANNEX 3: CRITERIA FOR THE INCLUSION OF NATURAL PROPERTIES ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This working paper provides a global overview of the current coverage of existing World Heritage Sites of particular importance for the conservation of biodiversity, and suggests existing protected areas of significant biodiversity value, which may merit future World Heritage nomination. In 1996, IUCN initiated a project to prepare a global strategy for Natural World Heritage sites, and as part of this process began to prepare a series of thematic global overviews on World Heritage site coverage. This document is an updated addition to these theme studies. A total of 141 sites, representing 65 countries and over 142 million ha of protected areas were identified as being of particular importance for biodiversity. The sites detailed in this study were selected on the basis of natural World Heritage sites that lay within or contained a site that had been defined as: Criterion iv (significant biodiversity) (95 sites) A WWE “Global 200” site (124 sites) A Centre of Plant Diversity (CPD) (74 sites) A Conservation International (CI) biodiversity hotspot (57 sites) Vavilov Centres of Plant Genetic Diversity (40 sites) An Endemic Bird Area (EBA) (71 sites) Contains “Critically Endangered” taxa (60 sites) Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar site) (16 sites) $GOSNI2DN eS. Od An area of marine importance (contained coral reefs (14 sites), mangroves (18 sites) or turtle nesting beaches) (15 sites) Global maps illustrating the distribution of the sites for each category were also produced. A coarse GIS analysis found only 6 out of 141 sites contained 8 of the 9 indicators listed above, no current natural and mixed World Heritage sites (as of November 1999) contained all 9 indicators. While terrestrial ecosystems are well represented, marine and wetland environments are not. Additionally over 90 sites were identified as potentially meriting consideration for future nomination. It is hoped that this overview will assist [UCN in making comparative evaluations and provide the World Heritage Committee with a stronger scientific basis for making decisions on new World Heritage nominations. INTRODUCTION A global overview of World Heritage sites of particular importance for biodiversity 1.0 Overview In 1996, IUCN initiated a project to prepare a global strategy for Natural World Heritage sites, and as part of this process began to prepare a series of thematic global overviews on World Heritage site coverage. These overviews are intended to assist [UCN in making comparative evaluations of World Heritage site nominations and to provide the World Heritage Committee with a firmer scientific basis for making decisions. They also provide State Parties with the global perspective relevant to identifying potential World Heritage properties in their territories. Global overviews of fossil sites, wetland and marine protected areas and forest protected areas have already been prepared, and two others are in development. In 1998 a preliminary working paper was compiled by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), providing an overview of World Heritage in the context of biodiversity conservation. The current document builds upon this first attempt, and addresses some of the key information needs identified in the 1998 study, as requiring further development. The purpose of this document is twofold: firstly, it will provide an overview of current natural World Heritage sites of significant biodiversity value, and secondly, it will identify existing protected areas of high biodiversity value that may be considered for future inscription on the World Heritage List. This overview identifies 141 natural and mixed World Heritage sites of particular importance for biodiversity. They represent 65 countries and over 142 million ha of protected areas. It also identifies 94 existing protected areas (ranked according to increasing levels of biodiversity value), that may merit future World Heritage nomination. 2.0 Issues to Consider Biodiversity is a very broad area to cover, it is therefore important to define the issues that should be covered and the type of questions that should be addressed by an overview such as this. Issues to consider when evaluating an area for biodiversity importance include: Biogeographic coverage Total number of species in area/species richness Degree of endemism Number of globally threatened species Importance for economically important species, including wild relatives Questions to consider when looking at the existing World Heritage List in relation to biodiversity include: e Which World Heritage sites are of particular importance for the protection/conservation of biodiversity? e What types of biodiversity richness are currently missing from World Heritage sites? e What sites might be of World Heritage quality in terms of biodiversity but are not currently listed? 3.0 What is Biodiversity? One of the first things to identify in a study such as this is to determine what is meant by the term biodiversity. It is an imprecise term contracted from ‘biological diversity’, that may be measured at genetic, species, habitat or ecosystem level. The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) defines biodiversity as "the variability among living organisms from which all sources including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems themselves". Depending on the type of study, an appropriate indicator of biodiversity should be used. In many instances species is generally considered to be the most useful measure of biodiversity assessments, at local, national, regional or global levels. Common measures of species biodiversity include the following: Species richness Species richness refers to the number or count of species occurring at a given area. It is one of the easiest and most straightforward methods of measuring biodiversity. Ideally the measure consists of a complete catalogue of all the species occurring in the area under consideration. However in practice this is very difficult to achieve, due to many species being very small, and thus being difficult to identify and count in situ. Additionally in many countries of the world a high proportion of smaller species have not been scientifically named. Indeed it is estimated that 80-95% of all living species have yet to be described. Species counts may reflect the biological richness of an identified area, however they do not reflect its uniqueness or indicate the area's importance in a wider context. Endemism A species may be defined as an endemic if it is confined entirely to that area, and occurs nowhere else. Endemism may be described in a geographical context, for example endemic to a mountain peak, desert basin, river system or lake or an island. The concept of endemism generally becomes more significant as the defined area reduces in size. Assessing the number of endemic species in an area is more difficult than counting the total number of species in a given area. The former activity cannot be carried out in isolation, as it relies on having a complete knowledge of the distribution of species involved. If a World Heritage Site, or an area that is nominated as such has species that are endemic to it then the site is clearly of universal significance for that species. Threatened species A species may become threatened as a result of human activities and/or natural phenomena, the former affecting many more species. Anthropogenic threats include habitat loss, overexploitation for subsistence or commercial use and the introduction of exotic species (species that have not evolved naturaily in that environment). These species are at significant risk of extinction due to the small size of remaining populations. The most threatened species are, therefore of the highest importance for the conservation of biodiversity. This study has used species and ecosystem level indicators. 4.0 Assessment Methodology In the 1998 pilot study, potential activities were identified that could be carried out using existing information that would help to review the current pattern of World Heritage sites, and assist in the guidance of future policy. A number of datasets were chosen help identify World Heritage sites of floral and faunal biodiversity importance. These were chosen based on their availability at WCMC, to ensure that a useful project could be completed within the timeframe available. The site identification programmes and datasets that were used in the initial pilot study have been supplemented in this current study. Those datasets considered useful and subsequently used are the following: Biogeography e Udvardy Biogeographical Provinces e Baileys Ecoregions Prioritisation Programmes WWFE Global 200 Ecoregions CI Global Biodiversity Hotspots Vavilov Centres of Plant Genetic Diversity (centres of crop origin and diversity) Centres of Plant Diversity (CPD) Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs) Species e Critically Endangered species e Turtle nesting sites Habitat e Coral and mangrove distribution e Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites) Using a Geographical Information System (GIS) all natural and mixed (cultural and natural) World Heritage properties (as of November 1999) were overlaid on top of the aforementioned datasets, allowing sites of biodiversity importance to be coarsely identified (Table 1). Additional tables and maps were derived from each individual dataset. Where appropriate cross-referencing using additional textual materials was also used, to provide greater value to the tables and ensure that the study was as accurate and comprehensive as possible, thus aiding in the more specific identification of World Heritage sites of biodiversity importance. Additionally this procedure has allowed for the identification of ‘gaps’ in World Heritage coverage, and thus is a coarse method of identifying priority areas that may be considered for future World Heritage nomination. The text that follows provides a brief explanation of the indicators used, and their significance in determining biodiversity importance. 5.0 Current World Heritage Sites The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (the World Heritage Convention), was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. To date more than 150 countries have acceded to the Convention, making it one of the most universal international legal instruments for the protection of the cultural and natural heritage. The Convention’s primary mission is to define and conserve the world's heritage, by drawing up a list of sites whose outstanding values should be preserved for all humanity and to ensure their protection through a closer co-operation among nations. Sites inscribed onto the World Heritage List may be defined as of natural heritage value or cultural heritage value. Those properties that have natural and cultural values are described as mixed sites. The World Heritage list can be viewed on-line at: http://www.unesco.org/whe/nwhe/pages/doc/main.htm "Natural heritage" designates outstanding physical, biological, and geological features; habitats of threatened plants or animal species and areas of value on scientific or aesthetic grounds or from the point of view of conservation. "Cultural heritage" is a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value. Global maps illustrating the distribution of the 150 current natural and mixed World Heritage properties (as of November 1999), at each indicator level is included in this report. This is also accompanied by a list of sites (Annex 1). 5.1 Criterion (iv) “Natural” properties submitted for inclusion in the World Heritage List are considered to be of outstanding universal value if they meet at least one of four selection criteria. Sites inscribed under criterion iv “contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation”. (See Annex 3 for additional criteria). Current properties fulfilling criterion iv (95) have been identified in this study, as they are clearly of significant biodiversity value. These sites are mapped (Map 1) and listed (Table 2) including a summary justifying their inclusion under criterion iv. 5.2 World Heritage Sites in Danger In accordance with Article 11.4 of the Convention, the World Heritage Committee “shall establish, keep up to date and publish, whenever circumstances shall so require, under the title of "list of World Heritage in Danger", a list of properties appearing on the World Heritage List for the conservation of which major operations are necessary and for which assistance has been requested under this Convention.” The list includes cultural and natural heritage properties that are threatened by serious and specific dangers such as the threat of disappearance caused by accelerated deterioration, large-scale public or private projects or rapid urban or tourist development projects; destruction caused by changes in the use or ownership of the land: major alterations due to unknown causes; abandonment for any reason whatsoever; the outbreak or the threat of an armed conflict or natural disasters.