Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
UNESCO's network of 2,260 designated sites spans over 13 million square kilometres, an area larger than China and India combined. These sites serve as vital sanctuaries for nature, protecting more than 60% of Earth’s mapped species. Four out of every ten species found here are endemic, existing nowhere else. UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany emphasized that within these sites, biodiversity continues to thrive even as it declines elsewhere, supporting both communities and humanity's heritage.
These territories also play a crucial role in climate regulation, storing an estimated 240 gigatons of carbon—nearly 20 years of current global carbon emissions. Destruction of these ecosystems could release this carbon, significantly hindering global climate targets.
UNESCO sites are vibrant human habitats, home to nearly 900 million people, or about one in ten worldwide. They are culturally diverse, with over 1,000 documented languages and a quarter of the land overlapping with Indigenous territories. In Africa and Latin America, Indigenous lands make up nearly half of the sites. The report highlights the essential role of these communities as longstanding guardians of the land.
Economically, the areas within or surrounding UNESCO sites generate about 10% of global GDP, demonstrating that conservation and economic prosperity can go hand in hand. However, almost 90% of these sites currently face significant threats, emphasizing the urgent need for increased protection to preserve their environmental and cultural value.
The information is derived from the report titled People and Nature in UNESCO-Designated Sites.