The IUCN World Heritage Outlook 4 will be launched at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in October 2025

The IUCN World Heritage Outlook is unique in its assessment of all World Heritage sites inscribed for their natural values simultaneously, at regular intervals (every 3-5 years). It is the only global assessment of natural World Heritage at a single point in time and recognises good conservation practice, supporting the role of World Heritage sites in demonstrating excellence. It also identifies the actions needed to support sites that are facing threats, to improve their conservation outlook.

Based on expert knowledge, IUCN's World Heritage Outlook is designed to track the state of conservation of all natural World Heritage sites over time. Implemented by the IUCN World Heritage Team and IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), it aims to provide reliable, transparent and independent information on the present situation and future prospects of natural World Heritage through Conservation Outlook Assessments.

The IUCN World Heritage Outlook is a proactive step to overcome existing and potential knowledge gaps through a methodological approach. The best available data from a wide range of sources and consultation with stakeholders is mobilized into a single IUCN hub for natural World Heritage.

The World Heritage Outlook also highlights the benefits that World Heritage sites provide to people, and projects supporting these exceptional places. It offers an early warning system helping to identify threats and take the necessary actions to achieve excellence in the conservation of our world's natural wonders.

Objectives

The IUCN World Heritage Outlook's main goal is to help improve the conservation of natural World Heritage sites and strengthen the World Heritage Convention through transparency and a proactive approach. Its objectives are to:

  • Track the state of conservation of all World Heritage sites inscribed for their natural values over time and raise awareness of their importance.
  • Recognise well-managed sites for their conservation efforts and encourage the transfer of good management practices between sites.
  • Identify the most pressing conservation issues affecting World Heritage sites inscribed for their natural values and the actions needed to remedy those issues.
  • Understand and communicate the benefits of World Heritage sites for local and global communities, for example in providing livelihoods and sustaining healthy ecosystems, at a time of fast-moving environmental, economic and humanitarian crises.

Background

UNESCO World Heritage sites enjoy the highest level of international recognition under the 1972 World Heritage Convention. These are places of such exceptional value that their protection transcends national boundaries, cultures and generations. Natural World Heritage sites therefore serve as a litmus test for how effectively the global community can safeguard nature in pursuit of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) targets by 2030.

Until the IUCN World Heritage Outlook was developed, less than half of all natural sites – those affected by serious conservation issues – were regularly tracked through joint reactive monitoring by UNESCO and IUCN, in its role as Advisory Body on natural World Heritage. The IUCN World Heritage Outlook complements the Convention’s statutory monitoring mechanisms by providing an independent, global, snapshot evaluation of all natural and mixed World Heritage sites - in 2014, 2017, 2020 and now 2025. Produced by IUCN, it supports World Heritage site managers and management authorities, governments, NGOs, scientific institutions and Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations. 

Facts and figures on natural World Heritage

There are 271 World Heritage sites with natural Outstanding Universal Value as of 2024:

  • 231 classified as natural sites
  • 40 mixed sites classified as both natural and cultural

 

Together, they account for 22% of all 1223 World Heritage properties listed, protecting over 470 million hectares of land and sea.

Natural World Heritage sites account for around 8% of the total surface area covered by all 280,000+ terrestrial and marine protected areas worldwide including 18 transboundary sites, and 15 sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

 

115 countries have an area designated as a natural or mixed World Heritage site:

  • 47 sites in Africa
  • 9 sites in Arab States
  • 85 sites in Asia and the Pacific
  • 83 sites in Europe and North America
  • 47 sites in Latin America and the Caribbean

 

Disclaimer

The contents of the Conservation Outlook Assessments are produced by IUCN and do not necessarily reflect the views of any contributing organization or individual.

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is the world's oldest and largest global environmental organization. IUCN demonstrates how biodiversity is fundamental to addressing some of the world's greatest challenges such as climate change, sustainable development and food security. IUCN was instrumental in founding the World Heritage Convention in 1972, as one of the two international organizations that first proposed the concept, and is explicitly recognized within the Convention as the technical Advisory Body to the World Heritage Committee on natural World Heritage sites. IUCN's World Heritage Programme has supported the Convention since its establishment and mobilizes action across IUCN to promote natural World Heritage.

The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected area expertise, with 2,500 members spanning 140 countries. IUCN WCPA works by helping governments and others to plan protected areas and integrate them into all sectors; by providing strategic advice to policy makers; by strengthening capacity and investment in protected areas; and by convening the diverse constituency of protected area stakeholders to address challenges.