FOR 30 years, the United Nations organisation UNESCO has been augmenting its with sites of particular importance for biodiversity, geology and evolution. There are currently 206 of them, with a further eight nominations . From bizarre geological formations and singular habitats to fascinating fossil beds, here is our selection of the best of the best of Earth’s natural heritage.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Covering an area of almost 350,000 square kilometres off Australia’s east coast, the Great Barrier Reef is home to 400 types of coral, and thousands of species of fish and molluscs. However, it is suffering multiple threats – from “bleaching” due to warming seas to in the neighbouring state of Queensland. According to the most pessimistic predictions, even if current trends can be reversed, the reef will not recover for generations.
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Mistaken Point, Canada
Added to the UNESCO list in 2016, Mistaken Point at the south-easternmost tip of Newfoundland is so called because sailors often mistook it for the neighbouring Cape Race, guiding their ships onto dangerous rocks. Its scientific interest lies in its unrivalled collection of Ediacaran fossils. These strange forms document one of the most important and enigmatic turns in Earth’s history – the first explosion of multicellular life onto the scene starting around 575 million years ago.
Ennedi Massif, Chad
The Sahara’s reputation as an inhospitable, windswept expanse of barren sand is only partly earned. In the Ennedi Massif in northern Chad, erosion of sandstone has created jagged rock formations and dramatic canyons, the deepest of which contain water all year round supporting a population of animals including a unique breed of dwarf crocodiles. Thousands of rock carvings and paintings are testament to a long history of human habitation, too. No wonder UNESCO recognises it both for its natural and cultural heritage.
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
No list of natural wonders would be complete without the Galápagos. Situated 900 kilometres west of South America, the isolation of this volcanic island group has led to an abundance of endemic species, most famously finches and giant tortoises, including Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta island tortoises. Charles Darwin observed the islands’ uniquely differentiated characteristics when passing by on the Beagle in the 1830s, sparking ideas that eventually led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.
Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
During the last ice age, a huge frozen sheet covered much of Patagonia. The Southern Patagonian Ice Field, high in the Andes between Chile and Argentina, is its remnant, and the second-largest ice field on Earth, excluding those at the poles. On its eastern side is the Perito Moreno glacier (pictured), a creaking and moaning mass of ice and tumbling icefalls. Unlike the other 50-odd glaciers of the ice field, which are retreating as the world warms, the Perito Moreno is growing. No one is quite sure why.
Białowieża Forest, Poland/Belarus
This is the largest surviving chunk of a primeval forest that once covered much of the plains of northern Europe. It is also refuge of the last few hundred European bison, the continent’s biggest animal. Little more than 1400 square kilometres of the forest are protected, and the rest has been the scene of repeated clashes between forestry and conservation interests. Most recently, in April 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Polish government had , supposedly to combat an infestation of bark beetle.
Surtsey, Iceland
Most sites on the UNESCO list represent ancient relicts of the natural world. Not so Surtsey – before 1963, it didn’t even exist. That is when the first of series of volcanic eruptions began to push up an entirely new island from beneath the waves just off the south coast of Iceland. Since then, it has been a natural laboratory to understand how animals and plants colonise new land, with strict restrictions on human interference, instituted in 1965, ensuring that these processes continue undisturbed.
Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, South Africa
Almost all hotspots for biodiversity are in the lush tropics. Not so the Cape Floral Regions at the southernmost tip of the African continent. Part of a temperate “Mediterranean” climate region, some think they are the . Despite covering only 1 per cent of Africa’s landmass, they contain 20 per cent of the continent’s plant species, about a third of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
Gough and Inaccessible islands, UK overseas territory
The clue is in (one of) the names. These islands, part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic, are some of the most isolated in the world. That, plus sheer, towering sea cliffs, make them havens for native wildlife, including huge colonies of albatrosses, penguins and petrels. Mice introduced from passing ships in the 19th century have become a concern as they attack and eat sea bird chicks. A programme to eliminate them is .
Redwood National and State Parks, USA
There’s no mistaking the stars of this show – giant sequoia trees, the last of a group of tree species that existed in many parts of the world during the age of the dinosaurs. The biggest of them, including General Sherman in the Sequoia National Park in California, are over 80 metres tall and more than 30 metres wide at the base. That makes them the largest, and some of the most valued, trees on Earth.
Lake Baikal, Russia
Travel three days east from Moscow along the Trans-Siberian Railway and you will reach the shores of Lake Baikal. Although its surface area isn’t especially impressive, extreme depths of up to 1,642 metres make it the largest lake in the world by volume. At between 25 and 30 million years old, it is considered the world’s oldest lake. It is also home to a remarkable 1000 plant and 2500 animal species, including bizarre overgrown shrimps known as amphipods, more than 80 per cent of which are endemic.
