Perth, April 21: UNESCO’s latest report has revealed that its protected sites are playing a critical role in safeguarding global biodiversity, even as wildlife populations continue to decline worldwide.
While global wildlife populations have dropped by 73% since 1970, the report found that those within UNESCO-designated areas have remained comparatively stable, underscoring their importance as environmental strongholds.
Titled People and Nature in UNESCO Sites: Global and Local Contributions, the report is the first to examine all UNESCO site categories — including World Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks — as a single interconnected network.
Together, these more than 2,260 sites span over 13 million square kilometres, an area larger than China and India combined, and represent a significant share of the planet’s ecological and cultural diversity.
“The findings are clear: UNESCO sites are delivering for both people and nature. Inside these territories, communities thrive, humanity’s heritage endures, and biodiversity is holding on while it collapses elsewhere. By measuring the global value and contributions of these sites, this report reveals what we stand to lose if they are not prioritised. It is an urgent call to scale ambition, recognising UNESCO sites as strategic assets in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, and investing now to protect ecosystems, cultures, and livelihoods for generations to come,” said Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Director-General.
According to the report, UNESCO sites encompass more than 60% of globally mapped species, with around 40% found nowhere else on Earth, highlighting their irreplaceable ecological value.
These areas also play a crucial role in climate regulation, storing an estimated 240 gigatons of carbon and accounting for approximately 15% of the carbon absorbed by forests globally each year.
However, the report warns that these vital ecosystems are increasingly under threat, with nearly 90% of sites facing high levels of environmental stress.
Climate-related hazards affecting UNESCO sites have risen by 40% over the past decade, and more than one in four sites could reach critical tipping points by 2050 without urgent intervention.
Potential consequences include glacier loss, coral reef collapse, species displacement, water scarcity and forests shifting from carbon sinks into carbon sources.
Beyond environmental significance, UNESCO sites are also home to nearly 900 million people — around 10% of the global population — and encompass over 1,000 languages, reflecting deep cultural and social connections.
The report emphasises that at least 25% of these sites overlap with Indigenous Peoples’ territories, rising to nearly 50% in regions such as Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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