The Everglades in the United States, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania: beautiful natural wonders, but the question is how much longer?

The number of natural world heritage sites that are damaged or at risk due to climate change has almost doubled to 62 in the past three years. The list of the most endangered sites contains iconic sites such as the Galapagos, Virunga National Park, Everglades and the monarch butterfly biosphere reserve in Mexico.

The coral reefs around the world are also particularly bad due to rising water temperatures. And climate change melts glaciers - from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the Swiss Alps. In the mangrove forest Sundarbans in India two islands are swallowed by the water, many others are threatened.

© IUCN

Tourism

"The protection of world heritage sites is an international responsibility," says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. "Our report has a clear message: climate change is fast and does not save the treasures of our planet. This underlines the need for urgent action to apply the Paris climate agreement. "

"Our natural world heritage plays a crucial role in the economy and amenities," said Tim Badman, World Heritage Director at IUCN. "The destruction can therefore have disastrous effects that go beyond the natural value. For example, in the Huascarán National Park melting glaciers influence the water supply. "

Climate change is just one of the factors contributing to the damage to the natural heritage. The biggest threat is invasive species. Third, after global warming, it is tourism.

Source: IUCN, The Guardian

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