We are excited to share that the U.S. Department of the Interior announced on 20 December 2024 that Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge will be nominated to join the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, consists of more than 400,000 acres encompassing 92 percent of the Okefenokee Swamp, a large hydrologically intact swamp that is the source of two rivers – one that flows into the Atlantic and the other into the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the world’s largest naturally driven freshwater ecosystems in the temperate zone with a diversity of habitat types, including 21 vegetative types. The refuge’s undisturbed peat beds store valuable information on environmental conditions over the past 5,000 years and are a significant source of information related to global changes.
The nomination comes after a collaborative process with partners and consultation with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage. The nomination will now go to the Federal Register for public review and then be submitted to the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations, for a final decision for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
If designated, the refuge would join the list recognizing 1,223 cultural and natural sites of universal importance, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall in China, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. There are sites in 168 of the 195 countries, with 26 in the United States following the addition of Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio in September 2023 and the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
“The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a landscape of unparalleled beauty and ecological significance. As one of the world’s largest intact freshwater ecosystems, it’s critical to both science and conservation,” said Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz. “Being nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List is a testament to the refuge’s global value, as a home for wildlife and a vital link to our planet’s environmental past and future.”