The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO), increased the number of World Heritage List sites by eight on the 8th of July. The complete list is now composed of 878 sites, 679 of which are cultural, 174 are natural, and 25 are both natural and cultural. The sites are spread throughout 145 countries, and are “of outstanding value to humanity” and are deserving of protection and preservation.
David Sheppard of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, (IUCN), told Andrea Thompson of Livescience.com that: “These eight stunning natural sites are amongst the best of what nature has to offer.” The eight new sites are: Joggins Fossil Cliffs – Canada, Mount Sanqingshan National Park – China, Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems – France, Surtsey – Iceland, Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan, Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve – Mexico, Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona – Switzerland, and Socotra Archipelago – Yemen.
The Joggins Fossil Cliffs, located in Nova Scotia, Canada, at the head of the Bay of Fundy, have been subjected to erosion for millions of years. The exceptionally high tides in the bay, often up to 15 metres, have exposed fossils of trees and animals living about 300 million years ago in the Upper Carboniferous Age or “Carbon Age.” These cliffs, which have also been called “The Coal Age Galapagos,” show the fossils of ancient trees, standing where they grew, footprints of ancient creatures, and the dens or hollows of amphibians, complete with the remnants of their last meal. Ancient amphibians, or tetrapods, the earliest known reptiles, have been found entombed within hollows of Coal Age trees. Sir William Dawson, the founder of modern geology, found the first true reptile at Joggins Fossil Cliffs. The tiny reptile, Hylonomus lyelli, was the ancestor of all later dinosaurs.
While the Joggins Fossil Cliffs represent the most ancient of life, Surtsey Island, off the coast of Iceland, characterizes the newest of life. On November 14, 1963, a fishing vessel reported a gigantic plume of smoke rising out of the water. It soon became evident to scientists, that the cloud was composed of ash, and not a smoke cloud as initially feared. An underwater volcano was erupting, spewing ash to a height of 9,144 metres into the atmosphere. By the evening of November 15, the island of Surtsey had arisen from the North Atlantic.
Surtsey continued to gain elevation and by the end of January, 1964, it stood 174 metres above the surface. In the summer of 1964, it was discovered that insects and birds were living on the island, and vascular plants and seals had taken up residence by June of 1965. It is a unique place because it provides living evidence of how birds, plants, and animals colonize land.
The choice of Saryarka, the steppe and lake area of Northern Kazakhstan, as a World Heritage site was also influenced by the life of birds and animals. These 200,000 acres of pristine Central Asian steppe, together with the area’s Korgalzhyn-Tengiz lakes are home to approximately 16 million birds and nesting waterfowl. They are an important stop-over for migratory birds from Africa, Europe, and South Asia on their way to their breeding grounds in Western and Eastern Siberia. In addition, the area is also home to the saiga antelope, which is critically endangered.
Another new addition to the list of World Heritage sites is Mount Sanqingshan National Park in China. The IUCN chose this park for its “outstanding national beauty.” The park has a very diverse forest and unusual granite rock formations, including sculpted peaks and pillars. Suspended walking trails give visitors an outstanding view of the park and its attractions.
Diversity is becoming rare, and increasingly important, in the natural world, and the Lagoons of New Caledonia are a place of amazing diversity. The IUCN realized that the assortment of life in the lagoons warranted it a place on the World Heritage List. Equaling, or perhaps surpassing, The Great Barrier Reef, in diversity, the Lagoons of New Caledonia have an amazing array of fish and coral life.
Diversity and rarity of life forms were the determining factors for the inclusion of the Socotra Archipelago as a new member of the list. Also called the “Galapagos of the Indian Ocean,” the 3,100 square kilometre row of islands is located off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago is named for its largest island, but it is home to 825 plant species, of which 37 percent can be found only there. Furthermore, ninety percent of its reptile population is unique to the islands.
Marine diversity also abounds around the archipelago. Life has come from the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, East Africa, and the wider Indo-Pacific. The numbers of corals and fish species are comparable to the Red Sea, even though the area is small.
Conservation and habitat protection are ongoing concerns for the Socotra Archipelago. The Socotra Conservation and Development Program Co-ordination Unit was set up in 2002 to “guide, oversee and support the implementation of all conservation and development initiatives of the Government of Yemen and international donors in the Socotra Archipelago. The Unit's team is in continuous contact with all concerned stakeholders in the island and in the mainland.” The IUCN states that the initiative is working as about 75 percent of the land area is included in natural sanctuaries and national parks.
Conservation of habitat is the main reason that the IUCN added the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in Mexico to the World Heritage Site list. Every winter, millions of Monarch butterflies fly hundreds of miles from the northern U.S. and southern Canada to this refuge in the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico. Though the butterflies, themselves, are not endangered, the oyamel forests are being cut down by poverty-stricken peasants who use the wood for fuel and construction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the people to find alternative sources of income so that less pressure is brought to bear on the oyamel forests.
Not all the sites chosen had to do with wildlife or habitat. The Swiss Tectonic Arena, Sardona, was chosen because of its unique geological factors. The area encompasses two valleys and one lake: the Anterior Rhine valley, the Sernf valley and Lake Walen. Mountain-building processes are very evident in the region, and have been part of scientific research since the eighteenth century. The Glarus Overthrust, an area where older rock overlays younger rock, is of great interest to geologists.
It is of primary importance that we continue to add both cultural and natural sites to the World Heritage List. So many times we believe ourselves to supreme on the Earth, exploiters, rather than conservators. Places like Sardona, the Socotra Archipelago, or the Joggins Fossil Cliffs show us that life was here eons before we were, and will be here well after we are extinct. It is vital, now in our little space of time, to do what we can to listen to the Earth and to make as small a footprint on its surface as possible.
