27 May 2016 \u2013 Some 31 natural and cultural World Heritage sites in 29 countries across the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new report released by the United Nations has found.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorld governments, the private sector and tourists all need to coordinate their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to protect the world\u2019s most treasured cultural and natural resources from the impact of tourism activities,\u201d said Elisa Tonda, head of UNEP\u2019s Responsible Industry and Value Chains Unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolicies to decouple tourism from natural resource impacts, carbon emissions and environmental harm will engage a responsible private sector and promote change in tourists\u2019 behaviour to realize the sectors\u2019 potential in some of the world\u2019s most visited places,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
In addition to UNEP, the report was prepared by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO<\/a>) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).<\/p>\n Because World Heritage sites<\/a> must have \u2018Outstanding Universal Value,\u2019 the report recommends that the World Heritage Committee consider the risk of prospective sites becoming degraded by climate change before they add them to the list.<\/p>\n In particular, the report highlights the urgent need to identify the World Heritage sites that are most vulnerable to climate change, and to implement policies and provide resources to increase resilience at those sites.<\/p>\n In addition, the report urges increased global efforts to meet the Paris Agreement<\/a>climate change pledges in order to preserve World Heritage sites for future generations.<\/p>\n \u201cGlobally, we need to better understand, monitor and address climate change threats to World Heritage sites,\u201d said Mechtild R\u00f6ssler, Director of UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Centre. \u201cAs the report\u2019s findings underscore, achieving the Paris Agreement\u2019s goal of limiting global temperature rise to a level well below 2 degrees Celsius is vitally important to protecting our World Heritage for current and future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n The report also recommends engaging the tourism sector in efforts to manage and protect vulnerable sites in the face of climate change, and to educate visitors about climate threats.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is affecting World Heritage sites across the globe,\u201d said Adam Markham, lead author of the report and Deputy Director of the Climate and Energy Program at UCS.<\/p>\n \u201cSome Easter Island statues are at risk of being lost to the sea because of coastal erosion. Many of the world\u2019s most important coral reefs, including in the islands of New Caledonia in the western Pacific, have suffered unprecedented coral bleaching linked to climate change this year. Climate change could eventually even cause some World Heritage sites to lose their status,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The report includes a complete list<\/a> of World Heritage sites that are at risk.<\/p>\n