|
National Park Service
Contact: General Park Information, 305-242-7700 Contact: Media Contact: Linda Friar, 305-242-7714 Everglades National Park has recently submitted its biennial report, entitled "Everglades National Park: 2015 State of Conservation," to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee. In 1979, the park was listed as a World Heritage site and since 1993 has been on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. According to Pedro Ramos, Superintendent of Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, "By designating Everglades National Park as a World Heritage Site, UNESCO recognizes the park as one of the most significant cultural and natural areas in the world. This recognition demonstrates the importance, for all the peoples of the world, of safeguarding the irreplaceable assets of this unique park." This biennial report: ·describes the Desired State of Conservation of the park and establishes the status and trends of important indicators of ecosystem integrity (such as water volume and distribution, water quality, the American alligator, wading birds, estuarine fish, and exotic plants and wildlife), ·describes the current status of the corrective measures that the park is undertaking to bring park habitats toward the Desired State of Conservation, and ·synthesizes the information on the status of integrity indicators, as well as the status of the corrective measures, thereby assessing progress and identifying further actions required. The information presented is intended to assist decision-making regarding the status of Everglades National Park as a World Heritage Site and to gauge the overall response of the ecosystem to factors such as changes to water management, climatic change, invasive exotic species, and the implementation of Everglades Restoration Projects. WHAT: World Heritage Site biennial report, entitled "Everglades National Park: 2015 State of Conservation," submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. WHEN: Immediately WHERE: The 2015 biennial report is available on the Everglades National Park website athttps://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/ About the World Heritage Convention The World Heritage Convention is an international treaty, established by UNESCO, which seeks to recognize and protect the most significant places around the world for future generations. Everglades National Park was among the first of the only 21 sites in the United States that have received this exceptional honor. For more information about World Heritage Sites, please visithttp://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ |
Last updated: April 14, 2015