Terrestrial biodiversity and the World Heritage List : identifying broad gaps and potential candidate sites for inclusion in the natural World Heritage network

The World Heritage List includes 156 properties explicitly recognized for their outstanding biodiversity values, which together represent the world’s major ecosystems. However, some areas with outstanding biodiversity values are still not part of this network of ‘biodiversity World Heritage sites’. To address this issue, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC have developed this global thematic study, with a focus on the terrestrial realm. The study updates previous analyses and identifies broad gaps as well as potentially outstanding biodiversity sites that may merit World Heritage listing. A study is underway for the marine realm. These reports are the latest in a long series of global and regional studies that, over the years, have provided critical guidance for the development of the World Heritage List.