AD 2017 Q3

Among the UNESCO World Heritage
sites best known to divers are the
Galapagos Islands, noted for its
resident schools of hammerhead
sharks, and the Revillagigedo
Archipelago, also known as the
Socorro Islands.
STEPHEN FRINK
All sites must prepare a management plan that explains how the
country will conserve a site’s value over the years. The committee can
remove from the list sites that do not follow that plan, but that has
happened only twice in 40 years.
The committee can also place — or threaten to place — a site on the
List of World Heritage in Danger. In 2012, for example, the committee
warned managers of the Great Barrier Reef site that they needed to
demonstrate substantial progress within a year or be placed on the
danger list. As a result, the Australian government banned dumping of
dredged material within the site, restructured port development near the
reef and pledged to reduce polluted runoff by 80 percent by 2025. After
the Belize Barrier Reef went onto the danger list in 2009, the Belizean
government permanently banned oil exploration in the site and in
February 2016 approved a coastal-management plan to help protect it.
The committee expects two issues to have the most significant effect on
marine sites in the coming decade: climate change and illegal, unreported
and unsustainable fisheries. “One key challenge with fisheries is that we
don’t clearly know how much is taken out of these sites,” Douvere said.
Divers and others can help with monitoring fishing and other activities at
sites that they visit. “We count very much on private citizens to warn us about
things that are going wrong,” Balsamo said. “People can call our attention to
things. We’ll communicate with the state party, see if something is going on
and whether we can do something about it. Anyone concerned about the
conservation of a site can and should write to us. It is always best to include
scientific information or pictures, which sometimes speak better than words.”
Douvere said that divers can share photographs and video to help the
organization raise visibility and awareness of sites as well. “Divers see things,”
she added. “They are in the water and are very knowledgeable.”
As our dive on Ningaloo Reef ends, the manta ray still glides nearby,
with a shimmering cloud of tiny silver fish providing a backdrop for its
underwater ballet.
“This is one of the longest, most complex and pristine fringing reefs
in the world,” Gourlay said. “We have a responsibility to care for the
Ningaloo Coast — and other World Heritage sites — to ensure these
biologically important habitats, plants and animals are protected and so
future generations can experience these wonders.” AD
*NOTE: The number of World Heritage Sites increased to 1,073 in July
after this issue went to press. For more information about the 21 new sites
(18 cultural, three natural), go to whc.unesco.org/en/news/1694.
World Heritage
Sites by
the Numbers*
1,052
total sites
203
natural sites
814
cultural sites
35
mixed natural
and cultural sites
49
marine sites
in 37 countries
29
marine sites with
coral reef systems
193
state parties to the
World Heritage Convention
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