A FIFTH OF SPECIES FOUND IN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES (WHS)

Key Points    

• The World Heritage Center (WHC) is crucial for the preservation of ecological integrity and biodiversity, according to a joint evaluation by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNESCO.

• Other key Findings:

• WHS contains more than 1/5 of the mapped worldwide species diversity although occupying less than 1% of the planet's surface.
• Numerous iconic species are protected by WHS, including at least one-tenth of great apes, giraffes, lions, and rhinos, as well as one-third of all elephants, tigers, and pandas.
• The highest population of Asian elephants and tigers may be found in India's Western Ghats.
• They are the last line of defense against extinction for mountain gorillas, pink iguanas, sumatran orangutans, and Javan rhinos.
•  The number of species that are vulnerable to hazardous climate conditions could increase by double with every 1°C rise in temperature.
• By 2030, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aims to stop and reverse the loss of biodiversity. Protecting WHS can assist achieve this goal.
• Global climate change and human pressures, such as infrastructure development, infrastructure growth, poaching, overexploitation of resources, and the spread of invasive species, pose threats to WHS.   

• About WHS:

• It is a designation for locations on Earth that are of exceptional significance to all people, including cultural, natural, and mixed sites, and that should be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
•  There are 1157 World Heritage Sites (WHS), 40 of which are in India.
• These places are intended to be protected by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (1972), which now has 195 states (including India) as parties.

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