Half Of World's Natural Heritage Sites Are Under Threat

A chilling report recently released by WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund) has found that nearly half of the world's UNESCO-designated natural World Heritage Sites are threatened by industrial activities including oil, gas, and mineral extraction, overfishing, and illegal logging.

Sadly, some of the world's most iconic natural sites have made it onto the WWF's list, including:

• the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, which is under stress due to extensive coral bleaching and is under further threat from the proposed Carmichael coal mine;
• the Everglades National Park in the US, which has been so degraded by encroaching industrial and agricultural development, among other threats, that it has been inscribed by UNESCO onto its List of World Heritage in Danger;