World Heritage Outlook 4 Report

News: The IUCN’s World Heritage Outlook 4 report released earlier this month attributes four biggest threats to the loss of habitats and species in South Asia: climate change, tourism activities, invasive alien species, and roads.

About World Heritage Outlook 4 Report

• It assesses the status and conservation trends of natural and mixed World Heritage sites globally, including India’s seven natural and one mixed sites.
• Published by: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the report is the fourth edition of a periodic evaluation started in 2014.
• Key Findings of Report
  • Threats: The Report attributes four biggest threats to the loss of habitats and species in South Asia: climate change, tourism activities, invasive alien species, and roads.
  • Categorization of sites: The report categorises the natural sites as “good”, “good with some concerns”, “significant concern”, and “critical”.
  • Almost 40% of sites face conservation concerns, with climate change continuing to be the most prevalent threat.
  • The percentage of sites with “a positive conservation outlook has decreased significantly.
  • Only 57% of these sites have a positive conservation outlook. (from 63% in 2014)
  • About India
    • Four sites gas been categorized as “good with some concerns” in India:
      • The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area, Kaziranga National Park, Keoladeo National Park, and Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks.
    • Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim has been rated “good” in its conservation outlook.
    • The expansive Western Ghats and two national parks in India – Assam’s Manas national park and West Bengal’s Sundarbans national park – have been categorised as being of “significant concern” in the report.