The IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature has compiled a report that more than 80 World Natural Heritage Sites are under threat from rising seawater temperatures and increased forest fires due to rapid climate change.
IUCN is a UNESCO advisory body made up of experts from wildlife around the world, and has recently released a report on the conservation status of 252 World Natural Heritage Sites.
Of these, 83 World Natural Heritage Sites, which are one-third of the total, are "extremely severe threats" or "severe threats" such as rising seawater temperatures due to climate change, increased forest fires, and the invasion of alien species. It is pointed out that it is exposed to.
Australia's Great Barrier Reef, known for its beautiful coral reefs, has seen a sharp decline in coral due to rising sea water temperatures and increasing "sea acidification," as well as the world's largest marshland spanning three South American countries. In Pantanal, a forest fire in Brazil from last year to this year has severely damaged a valuable ecosystem.
The report also points out that Japan's Ogasawara Islands are also "subject to severe threats," and the percentage of World Natural Heritage sites that are said to be affected by climate change is the same as in the report six years ago. It has almost doubled.
"Climate variability is the most prominent threat to World Natural Heritage. The entire world must work together to address it," IUCN said.