What we do
State of Conservation reporting
We monitor and prepare evaluations on how countries protect their sites by conducting field visits and collecting scientific data.
Global network of site managers
We connect daily managers from the 50 flagship marine protected areas to share conservation solutions and accelerate successful results.
Climate change adaptation
We assess climate change impacts on marine World Heritage and invest in building resilience at the site level.
Join us and support our work
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Where we work
Since the inscription of the first marine site on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, our network has grown in to a global collection of unique ocean places stretching from the tropics to the poles. Today, the List includes 50 unique ocean places across 37 countries – recognized for their unique marine biodiversity, singular ecosystem, unique geological processes or incomparable beauty.
Marine World Heritage
Highlights
5th World Heritage Marine Managers Conference takes place in the Wadden Sea
From 5 to 9 October 2023, managers from the 50 marine World Heritage sites gathered to discuss critical challenges and solutions in protecting ocean biodiversity of outstanding universal value to humanity. The conference’s objective was to accelerate conservation successes by sharing what works and what doesn’t, and to avoid costly mistakes that can be prevented when knowledge is exchanged.
World-first resilience strategies released in Palau, Belize and Australia
Throughout 2023, the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (Palau), Ningaloo Coast (Australia) and Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (Belize) launched resilience strategies aimed at securing the long-term conservation of their reef ecosystems and communities in a rapidly changing ocean. The release of the strategies is a key milestone for the Resilient Reefs Initiative. Initial seed funding for priority actions was released alongside the strategies.
Online meetings of the World Heritage Marine Managers Network
Several times per year, marine World Heritage site managers connect and share ideas around key conservation challenges through digital exchanges. Topics covered include blue carbon credits, building climate resilience for people and nature, debt-for-nature swaps, coral bleaching preparedness, invasive species, assessing climate vulnerability, and the impacts of COVID-19.
Biodiversity in Marine World Heritage
A UNESCO and IUCN assessment reveals that 12% of all marine species, and 35% of threatened marine species, occur in UNESCO World Heritage marine sites. This includes 26% of shark and ray species, 34% of marine fish species, 53% of hard coral species, 11% of marine invertebrate species, 60% of all whale-, dolphin and porpoise species and 86% of sea turtle species. Additionally, 40% of all seabird species and 60% of penguin species can be found in World Heritage marine sites.
Global eDNA sampling campaign
The UNESCO environmental DNA Expedition took place across 25 marine World Heritage sites between September 2022 and July 2023. The eDNA data collected will provide a one-off snapshot of biodiversity richness across marine World Heritage sites, particularly for fish species. Hundreds of school children and community members collected samples across Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, Mauritania, South Africa, the Seychelles, and Yemen, amongst many other sites.
Emergency plan to boost resilience of World Heritage-listed coral reefs
In the context of the 7th Our Oceans Conference held in Palau in April 2022, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, announced an emergency plan to give coral reefs the best chance of survival, with the support of the UN-led private/public Global Fund for Coral Reefs. The partnership will explore joint opportunities to step up investment for climate resilience strategies in the 19 out of 29 World Heritage-listed reefs located in developing countries.
Ocean Science Roadmap for UNESCO Marine World Heritage
In November 2021, UNESCO launched the science roadmap calling to substantially increase science investment to protect Marine World Heritage from climate impacts. The roadmap provides strategic guidance for science investment at marine World Heritage through the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 - 2030).
Blue Carbon and UNESCO Marine World Heritage
In March 2021, UNESCO released the first global scientific assessment of its World Heritage marine sites’ blue carbon ecosystems, highlighting the critical environmental value of these habitats. While these sites represent less than 1% of the world’s ocean, they host at least 21% of the world’s blue carbon ecosystem area, and 15% of the world’s blue carbon assets.
The impact of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and the wave of lockdowns across the globe had unprecedented effects for UNESCO marine World Heritage sites. While local communities have seen a drastic reduction of their income, managers and their teams find creative ways to respond to the crisis and prepare for a future that allows people and nature to live in harmony.
Resources
Ocean Science Roadmap for UNESCO Marine World Heritage
Partners
Images of the video in chronological order: ©Martial Dosdane - province sud; ©UNESCO/Daniel Correia; ©Brian Sullivan; ©Erick Higuera; ©Ministry of Trade, Sudan Government; ©Mary Bomford; B Navez Public Domain; ©Mary Bomford; Nikita Ovsayanikov/Wild Russia/Public Domain; ©James Watt/Seapics; ©UNESCO/Mark Kelley; ©FAICO; ©Brian Sullivan; ©UNESCO/Daniel Correia; ©Ministry of Trade, Sudan Government; ©UNESCO/Andreas Kruger; ©KfW Stiftung / Stefan Daub; ©UNESCO/Daniel Correia;© @mdf; ©UNESCO/Daniel Correia;
