The sites that have been included in the list of World Heritage Sites constitute the “last ditch” for the protection of endangered species in the world, according to Unescowhich appealed to its 195 member countries for their protection, mainly from the climate crisis.

The 1,157 natural sites and cultural monuments which have been included in this list of Unesco represent less than 1% of the Earth’s surfacebut there lives more than a fifth of the world’s wealth of mapped species, it is pointed out in a study of this UN agency entitled: “World Heritage, a unique contribution to the conservation of biodiversity”.

“World Heritage sites are the last line of defense for species because they are home to the world’s most threatened species, such as the Vaquita – the pygmy porpoise – which is the smallest cetacean in the world, of which there are only about ten left, or the Javan rhinoceros, of which there are barely about sixty left,” noted Lazar Elundu-Assomo, Unesco’s World Heritage Director.

“If vaquitas disappear, so will a large part of our understanding of the history of our planet’s biodiversity. The same goes for the last pandas or the last rhinos. All these species are in World Heritage sites and if this last rampart to protect these species falls, there will be a huge risk to humanity,” he added.

According to Tales Carvalho Resenderesponsible for the programs of the World Heritage Committee, who contributed to the study, the 1,157 natural and cultural sites of the Unesco World Heritage are home to over 75,000 species of plants and above 30,000 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians from above 600,000 species recorded in the world.

These “protect over 20,000 threatened species globally, some of which (protect) the last members of many species. However, the conservation status of one third of the natural sites is threatened mainly due to climate deregulation and therefore it is urgent to take adaptation and prevention actions, investing more in these sites”, he noted.

According to Eloundou-Assomos, “biodiversity is essential to the balance of our humanity and fortunately we have these (world) heritage sites to still protect these species, as with all the human pressures, infrastructure projects, there would be nothing left. The realization of these dangers should lead to a leap, because what is at stake is our planet.”