Wildlife and humans thriving in Unesco-protected sites

While wildlife populations crash globally, research finds designated areas enable recovery of threatened species Wildlife and humans are thriving within sites recognised by Unesco, research has found, allowing for the recovery of threatened species and habitats around the world. While wildlife populations have crashed globally by nearly three-quarters since 1970, those within Unesco-protected areas have remained largely stable. “It’s good news, it shows that these sites are extremely resilient in the face of a changing world,” said Tales Carvalho Resende, one of the co-authors of the report People and Nature in Unesco Sites, published on Tuesday. But the sites are also under severe threat: more than 300,000 sq km of tree cover, an area larger than the Republic of the Congo, has been lost within Unesco-designated sites since 2000, mostly owing to agricultural expansion and logging. About 90% of Unesco sites globally are also judged to be under “high levels” of environmental stress, chiefly extreme heat. One in four designated sites could reach critical climate tipping points by 2050, according to Unesco. These include the disappearance of glaciers, collapse of coral reefs and forest