Publishedin2022bytheUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCultural

Organization(UNESCO),7,placedeFontenoy,75352Paris07SP,France

andtheIUCN,InternationalUnionforConservationofNatureandNatural

Resources,RueMauverney28,1196Gland,Switzerland.

?UNESCOandIUCN2022

ISBN:978-92-3-100557-2

DOI:10.3929/ethz-b-000578916

ThispublicationisavailableinOpenAccessundertheAttributionShareAlike

3.0IGO(CC-BY-SA3.0IGO)license(/licenses/

by-sa/3.0/igo/).Byusingthecontentofthispublication,theusersaccept

tobeboundbythetermsofuseoftheUNESCOOpenAccessRepository

(

/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en

).

Thedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterialthroughoutthis

publicationdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepart

ofUNESCOandIUCNconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,city

orareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersor

boundaries.

Theideasandopinionsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseofthe

authors;theyarenotnecessarilythoseofUNESCOanddonotcommitthe

Organization.

Suggestedcitation:UNESCO,IUCN,2022:WorldHeritageGlaciers:Sentinels

ofclimatechange,Paris,UNESCO;Gland,IUCN.

Imagesandfiguresmarkedwithanasterisk(*)donotfallundertheCC-BY-SA

licenseandmaynotbeusedorreproducedwithoutthepriorpermissionof

thecopyrightholder.

Contributors:TalesCarvalhoResendeandMikhailStepanov(UNESCO);Jean-

BaptisteBossonandMatthewEmslie-Smith(IUCN);DanielFarinotti,Romain

HugonnetandMatthiasHuss(ETHZurich/SwissFederalInstituteforForest,

SnowandLandscapeResearch)andEtienneBerthier(LEGOS/CNRS).

Proofreader:JillGaston

Acknowledgments:RobbertCasier,GuyDebonnet,DorineDubois,Lazare

EloundouAssomo,MariaGropa,SusannaKari,AnilMishra,NolwaziMjwara,

ErnestoOttoneRamirez,RichardVeillon

Graphicdesign:ScienseedandPhilippeLauby

ThispublicationisacontributiontotheUNESCO"FutureKeepers”campaign

(

/en/futurekeepers

)madepossiblebytheAustralian

Government.

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

3

Limitingglobal

warmingto1.5°C

couldsaveglaciers

in2/3ofWorld

Heritagesites

Shortsummary

Limitingglobalwarmingto1.5°Ccould

saveglaciersintwo-thirdsofWorld

Heritagesites

GlaciersarecrucialsourcesoflifeonEarthastheyprovidevitalwaterresourcestohalfof

humanityfordomesticuse,agricultureandhydropower.Theyarealsosacredplacesfor

manylocalcommunitiesandattractmillionsoftouristsglobally.

Glaciersaresomeofthemostvaluableindicatorsforunderstandingclimatechange.

AmongthemostdramaticevidencethatEarth'sclimateiswarmingistheretreatand

disappearanceofglaciersaroundtheworld.Closelyobservingandquantifyingthis

phenomenonisessentialtodevelopeffectiveadaptationresponses.

Around18,600glaciershavebeenidentifiedin50WorldHeritagesites.Theseglaciers

spananareaofabout66,000km2,representingalmost10%oftheEarth’sglacierizedarea.

Researchstudiesperformedwithsatellitedatahighlightthattheseglaciershavebeen

retreatingatanacceleratingratesince2000.WorldHeritageglaciersloseonaverage

some58billiontonnesoficeeveryyear—equivalenttothetotalannualvolumeofwater

consumedinFranceandSpaintogether—andcontributetoalmost5%ofglobalobserved

sea-levelrise.Projectionsindicatethatglaciersinone-thirdofWorldHeritageglacierized

siteswilldisappearby2050regardlessoftheappliedclimatescenarioandglaciersin

aroundhalfofallsitescouldalmostentirelydisappearby2100inabusiness-as-usual

emissionsscenario.

Themostimportantprotectivemeasuretocounteractsubstantialglacierretreatworldwide

istodrasticallyreducegreenhousegasemissions.Ifemissionsaredrasticallycuttolimit

globalwarmingto1.5°Crelativetopre-industriallevels,glaciersintwo-thirdsofWorld

Heritagesitescouldbesaved.Atsitelevel,adaptativemeasuresneedtobestrengthened

torespondtoinevitableglacierchangesinthenearfuture.Theseincludeidentifying

knowledgegapsandimprovingmonitoringnetworks,designingandimplementingearly

warninganddisasterriskreductionmeasures,makingglaciersafocusoftargetedpolicy,

andpromotingknowledgeexchange,stakeholderengagementandcommunication.

Thesuccessfulimplementationofthesemeasuresrequiresthemobilizationofkey

stakeholders(e.g.,governments,civilsociety,IndigenousPeoples,localcommunitiesand

theprivatesector)todevelopsustainablefinancingandinvestments,notablythroughthe

establishmentofaninternationalfundforglacierresearchandmonitoring.

“Sincewarsbegininthe

mindsofmenandwomen,

itisinthemindsofmenand

womenthatthedefencesof

peacemustbeconstructed.”

WorldHeritageGlaciers

Sentinelsofclimatechange

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

5

Contents

4

ShortSummary

1WorldHeritageglaciers:keystonesoflife

6

1.1ThecriticalimportanceofglaciersforsustaininglifeonEarth

6

1.2Thedynamicsofglaciers

7

1.3WorldHeritagesites:hostingsomeoftheplanet’smosticonic

glaciers

10

2WorldHeritageglaciersinachangingclimate

16

2.1Glaciersinawarmingclimate

16

2.2Significanticemasslossandsea-levelriseintheearly21stcentury

17

2.3WorldHeritageglaciers’acceleratedmelting

22

2.4DisappearingWorldHeritageglaciers

23

3Limitingglobalwarmingto1.5°C:acriticalactiontoprotectWorld

Heritageglaciers

25

4

Conclusion 29

5References 30

6RelevantUNESCOpolicies,strategiesandguidelinesonWorldHeritage,

glaciersandclimateaction 32

1

HuascaránNationalPark(Peru)?TainahNarducci/S*

1.WorldHeritageglaciers:

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

keystonesoflife

1.1Thecriticalimportanceofglaciersforsustaininglife

onEarth

Coveringabout10%oftheplanet’ssurface,icemasses1arecrucialforsustaininglifeonEarth.Glacialecosystemsprovidevitalresourcestoasignificantproportionoftheglobalpopulationbecauseoftheirhighbiologicaldiversityandecosystemservicessuchassedimentsinks,freshwaterreservoirsandhabitatsforbiodiversity.Thebenefitsincludefreshwaterfordomesticuse,agriculture,industryandhydropower,aswellasclimateregulation2,3.

About50%oftheglobalbiodiversityhotspotsontheplanetarelocatedinbasinsdrainedbyglaciers4andcontainathirdoftheentireterrestrialspeciesdiversity5.Oftenreferredtoasnatural“watertowers”,glaciersinmountainsprovidelowlandswithessentialfreshwatersupply.TheHighMountainrangesofAsiaarecoveredbyapproximately100,000km2ofglaciericeandfeedthegreatriversofCentralAsia(AmuDaryaandSyrDarya)andSouthAsia(Brahmaputra,GangesandIndus),SoutheastAsia(HuangHe,MekongandYangtze).

TheAntarcticandGreenlandicesheetsarethelargestbodiesoficeintheworldandplayanimportantroleintheglobalclimatesystem.Theyserveasaglobalthermostatregulatingoceancirculation,andtheirwhiteicecovercoolstheatmospherebyreflectingsunlight(albedoeffect).

Thebenefitsofglacialecosystemsarenotsolelyphysicalandbiological;theyarealsoimportanttohumansculturally.GlacierscarryhugeculturalandspiritualsignificanceformanyIndigenousPeoplesandlocalcommunities(Box1)andprovideeconomicandeducationalbenefitsthroughtherecreationandtourismassociatedwiththem.

Box1:Examplesoftheculturalimportanceofglaciers

AccordingtotheMāorilegend,HineHukatere(aMāoridemigod)

lovedtoclimbmountainsandconvincedherloveWawetojoin

herononeoftheirclimbs.Duringthisclimb,Wawewasswept

awaybyanavalanche,nevertobeseenagain.HineHukatere

washeartbroken,andhergriefcausedhertocryriversoftears

thatfloweddownthemountainandfrozetoformtheglacierthat

standstoday.

FranzJosefGlacier,orKāRoimataōHineHukatere

(TheTearsofHineHukatere)intheTeWahipounamu

–SouthWestNewZealand(NewZealand)7

?NationalInstituteofCulture(Peru),2004*

Everyyear,tensofthousandsofpilgrimsgatherinthePeruvianAndestocelebrateQoyllurRit’i,ortheSnowStarFestival.Thiscenturies-oldeventisanativecelebrationofthestarstomarkthestartoftheharvestseason.Italsohonorsalocalglacier,whichisheldtobesacred.Ukukus(spiritualleaders)usedtocutblocksoficefromtheglaciertosharewiththeotherpilgrims,believingthemeltedwaterhadhealingpowers.However,theystoppedthistraditionafternotingadeclineintheglacier’ssize.

ThepilgrimageandassociatedfestivalwereinscribedontheUNESCORepresentativeListoftheIntangibleCulturalHeritageofHumanityin20116.

QoyllurRit’i,ortheSnowStarFestivalinPeru

?JanMika/S*

6

1Antarcticicesheet(8.3%ofgloballandsurface),Greenlandicesheet(1.2%ofgloballandsurface),andglaciersandicecaps(0.5%ofgloballandsurface)

2Biemansetal.,2019

3Cooketal.2021

4UNEPandGRID-Arendal,2019

5K?rner,2004

6/en/RL/pilgrimage-to-the-sanctuary-

of-the-lord-of-qoylluriti-00567

7

/en/list/551/

7

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

1.2Thedynamicsofglaciers

Glaciersarebodiesofmovingicethatdevelopassnowaccumulatedincoldplacescompactsand

recrystallizes.Theformationofaglaciertakesdecadestomillennia,anditssizevariesdependingon

theamountoficeitretainsthroughoutitslifespan.Eachyear,glaciersgainandlosemass.Theygain

massfromsnowandprecipitationintheirupperportions(accumulationzone)andlosemassintheir

lowerportions(ablationzone)bypartiallymeltinginsummer.Inmarine-terminatingglaciers,they

alsolosemassbycalvingicebergsthatfloataway.

Thebalancebetweenaccumulationandablationisthemassbalanceoftheglacier.Ifaccumulation

isgreaterthanablation,thentheglacierhasapositivemassbalanceandwilladvance.Ifablationis

greaterthanaccumulation,thentheglacierhasanegativemassbalanceandwillretreat(Figure1).The

glacierterminusistheendofaglacieratanygivenpointintime.Changesintheterminusposition

areoftenusedasanimportantindicatorformonitoringthelong-termdynamicbehaviorofglaciers.

Therateofchangeoftheglacierterminuspositionisdeterminedbychangesinglacierdynamics.For

example,anexcessaccumulationwillleadtoincreasingglaciervelocityand,ultimately,anadvance

ofitsfront.Inmarine-terminatingglaciers,oceantemperaturealsoinfluencesthestabilityofthe

terminus(thecalvingfront)bymeltingtheglacierbelowthewaterlineandthinningtheicethatisin

contactwiththewater.

Figure1:Simplifieddiagramofglacierdynamics

Source:UNESCO

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

Earth’sglaciersvaryincrediblyintheirsizesandshapes,rangingfromsmallcirqueglacierstoicemasseshundredsofmetersthickinmountainsandicesheets.Therearetwomaingroupsofglaciers:

■Unconstrainedglaciers,thathaveamorphologyandflowpatternlargelyindependentofunderlyingtopography,e.g.polaricecapsortheAntarcticandGreenlandicesheets,

Hoffellsj?kullGlacierdrainingtheVatnaj?kullNationalPark(Iceland)8icecap

?ThorvardurArnason

■Constrainedglaciers,thathaveamorphologyandflowpatternstronglydependentonunderlyingtopography,e.g.icefield,cirque,valley,piedmontandtidewaterglaciers.

Typesofconstrainedglaciers

Source:PeakVisor

8/en/list/1604

9/en/list/1557/

8

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

Glaciersareasensitiveindicatorofclimatechange—andonethatcanbeeasilyobserved.Althoughtherearearound200,000glaciersontheplanet,onlyafewhundredarecurrentlymonitoredin-situ10becausetheyareoftendifficulttoaccess.Satelliteimageryhasthusbecomeoneofthemostvaluablemethodstokeeptrackoftheworld’sretreatingglaciers(Box2).

Box2:Monitoringtheworld’sglaciersusingsatelliteimagery

Thefirstattemptstocompileaworldglacierinventorywerebasedmainlyonaerialphotographsandmaps.Nowadays,satelliteimageryisanimportantresourceforglobal-scaleglaciermonitoring.Detailedandcompleteinventoriesoftheworld’sglaciers11havebeencompiledwithgreateffortoverthelastfewdecades.However,theseinventorieshavebeenlimitedtoglacierextentandsurfaceelevationanddonotprovidecertainkeyparameterssuchasglacierthickness.

Recentresearcheffortshavefocusedonestablishingaconsensustobetterestimateglaciers’icethickness12.Knowingthethicknessofglaciericeiscriticalforprojectionsoffutureglacierchanges(e.g.predictingtherateandtimingofglacierretreatanddisappearance),subsequenteffectsonlocalandregionalhydrologiccyclesandglobalsealevel,andtheassociatedenvironmentalandsocialimpacts.

Buildingontheseeffortsandusingsatellite-baseddata,researchershavecreatedhigh-resolutiondigitalelevationmodelsofalltheworld’sglaciersandreconstructedatimeseriesofglaciersurfaceelevation.Thishaspermittedcalculationsofchangesinthethicknessandmassoftheicefrom2000to202013.Forthepresentreport,theresultswereextractedforglacierslocatedinWorldHeritagesites.

?CNRS/EtienneBerthier

10Zempetal.,2015

11G?rtner-Roeretal.,2022

12Farinottietal.,2019a

13Hugonnetetal.,2021

9

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

1.3WorldHeritagesites:hostingsomeoftheplanet’smosticonic

glaciers

Adoptedin1972,theUNESCOConventionConcerningtheProtectionoftheWorldCulturalandNaturalHeritage(WorldHeritageConvention)has,todate,beenratifiedby194Statesunitedina sharedobjectivetoprotectandcherishtheworld’smostoutstandingnaturalandculturalheritage (Box3).UnderthisuniqueinternationalConvention,morethanathousandnatural,culturalandmixed (bothnaturalandcultural)sitesarecurrentlyrecognizedfortheirOutstandingUniversalValue–“culturaland/ornaturalsignificancewhichissoexceptionalastotranscendnationalboundariesand tobeofcommonimportanceforpresentandfuturegenerationsofallhumanity”14–andinscribedon theUNESCOWorldHeritageList15.

Glaciershavebeenidentifiedin50sitesontheUNESCOWorldHeritageList.Glaciersareoneoftheprincipalreasonsjustifyingtheinscriptionofcertainsites,includingKluane/Wrangell-St.Elias/GlacierBay/Tatshenshini-Alsek(Canada,UnitedStatesofAmerica)16,SagarmathaNationalPark(Nepal)17,LosGlaciaresNationalPark(Argentina)18,TeWahipounamu–SouthWestNewZealand(NewZealand),SwissAlpsJungfrau‐Aletsch(Switzerland),IlulissatIcefjord(Denmark)19,WestNorwegianFjords–GeirangerfjordandN?r?yfjord(Norway)20,TajikNationalPark(MountainsofthePamirs)(Tajikistan)21andVatnaj?kullNationalPark–DynamicNatureofFireandIce(Iceland)22.Inaround30otherWorldHeritagesites,glacierscontribute,togetherwithotherfeatures,tothejustificationforinscriptionontheList.

TodaytheUNESCOWorldHeritageListincludesthesitewiththefastestglacierandlargesticebergproducerintheworld(JakobshavnIsbr?GlacierinIlulissatIcefjordinDenmark),thelongestglacieroutsidepolaricesheets(BeringGlacierinKluane/Wrangell-St.Elias/GlacierBay/Tatshenshini-AlsekinCanadaandtheUnitedStatesofAmerica),thehighestglaciersystem(nexttoMountEverestinSagarmathaNationalParkinNepal),thelastremainingglaciersinAfrica(onMountKilimanjaro23intheUnitedRepublicofTanzania,MountKenyaNationalPark/NaturalForest24inKenya,RwenzoriMountainsNationalPark25inUgandaandtheVirungaNationalPark26intheDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo)andsomeofthelargestglaciersofAlaska,CentralAsia,CentralEurope,NewZealandandtheSouthernAndes(Box4).

10

14Paragraph49oftheOperationalGuidelinesforthe

ImplementationoftheWorldHeritageConvention:

/en/guidelines/

15897cultural,218naturaland39mixedsitesasof

October2022;listavailablefrom

/en/list/

16/en/list/72/

17/en/list/120/

18/en/list/145/

19/en/list/1149/

20/en/list/1195

21/en/list/1252/

22/en/list/1604/

23/en/list/403

24/en/list/800/

25/en/list/684/

26/en/list/63

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

Box3:WorldHeritageConvention:oneofthemostsuccessfulinternationalinstrumentsfornatureconservation

TheWorldHeritageConventionisconsideredoneofthemostimportant,efficientandrepresentativearea-basedglobalnatureconservationprogrammes.WorldHeritagesitesareamongtheplaceswiththehighestlevelsoflegalprotectionandexpectedtodemonstratethebestmanagementpractices.Morethan3.5millionkm2(roughlythesurfaceareaofIndia)oflandandseaarecurrentlyprotectedundertheWorldHeritageConvention,whoseimplementationreliesnotablyonthefollowing27:

Athoroughscience-basedmonitoringsystem

TheWorldHeritageConventionhasanunparalleledsystemtomonitorthestateofconservationofsites28inordertoidentifyandaddressemergingconservationissuesthatcouldhaveanimpactontheOutstandingUniversalValueofthesites.Itdrawsontheexpertiseofaglobalnetworkofheritagepractitioners,likeitstechnicalAdvisoryBodiesonnature(IUCN)andculture(ICCROMandICOMOS),thusensuringscientificcredibility,consistencyandobjectivity.

Actionontheground

TheWorldHeritageConventioninspirescommunitiesandnationstodomoretorecognizeandpreservenaturalheritage.UNESCOprovidestechnicalassistance,buildscapacityandsupportson-the-groundprojectstoaddressthreatsandpromoteeffectivemanagementthatensurethehighestlevelofprotectionforallUNESCOWorldHeritagesites.

Partnershipforsustainabledevelopment

TheWorldHeritageConventionrecognizesheritageasasharedassetofhumanitythatshouldbenefitcurrentandfuturegenerations.Itsimplementationrequiresclosealignmentwiththeaimsofsustainabledevelopmentandinternationalcooperation,ledbyStatesPartiesinpartnershipwithmanystakeholders,notablytheUNESCOWorldHeritageCentre,theAdvisoryBodiestotheWorldHeritageCommittee29,civilsociety,IndigenousPeoples,localcommunitiesandtheprivatesector.

AgainstabackdropoficeblocksandtheLamplughGlacier,representativesfromGlacierBayNationalParkandPreserve(United

StatesofAmerica)andWestNorwegianFjords-GeirangerfjordandN?r?yfjord(Norway)signedaPartnershipAgreementin

September2019tosharebestpracticesbetweensitemanagers,includingmanagementplans,researchandmonitoringprotocols

?UNESCO/DanielCorreia

27

/en/guidelines/

28StateofConservationInformationSystem:

/en/soc/

29TheWorldHeritageCommitteeisoneofthegoverningbodiesoftheConvention.Itconsistsofrepresentativesfrom21ofthe

StatesParties.Amongitsmission,itdecideswhetherasiteisinscribedontheUNESCOWorldHeritageList,examinesreportsonthestateofconservationofinscribedpropertiesandasksStatesPartiestotakeactionwhensitesarenotbeingproperlymanaged.

11

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

Box4:SomeoutstandingWorldHeritageglaciers

TheJakobshavnIsbr?Glacier(alsoknownasSermeqKujalleq)inIlulissatIcefjord(Denmark)isoneofthemostactiveglaciersintheworldmovingseveraltenthsofmetersperday.Itdrainsapproximately6.5%oftheGreenlandicesheetandproducesaround10%ofallGreenland’sicebergs.ItisbelievedthattheicebergthathittheTitanicin1912brokeofffromthisglacier.Studiedforover250years,theJakobshavnIsbr?Glacierhashelpeddevelopthemodernunderstandingofclimatechangeandicesheetscience.

?RalphRozema/S*

TheFedchenkoGlacierinTajikNationalPark(Tajikistan)isthelargestvalleyglacierinCentralAsia.Itcurrentlyextendsover70km,makingitthelongestglacierintheworldoutsideofthepolaricesheets.Coveringanareaofover700km2,theglaciermayreachamaximumthicknessof1km.

?MichalKnitl/S*

Withelevationsupto4,900matitsterminusandfedbymanyhangingglacierslocatedabove8,000m,theKhumbuGlacier,notfarfromtheMountEverestbasecampinSagarmathaNationalPark(Nepal),ispartoftheworld’shighestglaciersystem.

MountKilimanjaro(UnitedRepublicofTanzania),MountKenyaNationalPark/NationalForest(Kenya),RwenzoriMountainsNationalPark(Uganda)andVirungaNationalPark(DemocraticRepublicoftheCongo)featurethelastremainingglaciersinAfrica.Althoughtheseglaciersaretoosmalltoactassignificantwaterreservoirs,theyareofeminentscientificandculturalimportanceandattractthousandsoftouristseveryyear.

?Arsgera/S*

?Hyserb/S*

12

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

TheMalaspinaGlacierinsoutheasternAlaskainKluane/Wrangell-St.Elias/GlacierBay/Tatshenshini-Alsek(Canada,UnitedStatesofAmerica)isthelargestpiedmontglacierintheworld,atypeofglacierinwhichtheflowspillsfromanarrowvalleyontoaflatplainandspreadsoutlikeafan.Theglacierisabout65kmwideand45kmlong,withanareaofsome3,900km2.

TheGreatAletschGlacierinSwissAlpsJungfrau-Aletsch(Switzerland),knownwidelybyitsGermannameGrosserAletschgletscher,isthelargestglacierintheAlps.Theglacierisremarkableforcreatingacanyonthatlookslikeaman-maderoaddowntheslopestothevalley.SomeofthehighestandmostvisitedpeaksinEuropearefoundinthisregion.

Source:GoogleEarth,24September2014(NASAEarthObservatorywebsite)

LosGlaciaresNationalPark(Argentina)isanareaofexceptionalnaturalbeauty,withrugged,toweringmountainsandnumerousglaciallakes,includingLakeArgentino,whichis160kmlong.Atitsfarthestend,threeglaciers(Upsala,OnelliandPeritoMoreno)meet.

?KONDRATEVALEXEY/S*

?saiko3p/S*

13

WorldHeritageGlaciersSentinelsofclimatechange

Around18,600glaciershavebeenidentifiedinWorldHeritagesitesandspananareaofabout66,000km2,representingalmost10%oftheEarth’sglacierizedarea30(Table1).Fromverysmallcirqueglaciers(lessthan10km2)tolargeicecaps(morethan1000km2),alltypesofglacierscanbefoundinWorldHeritagesites.MostWorldHeritageglaciersaresituatedinmountainregionsoutsidethepolaricesheets(Figure2)31,32.TheWorldHeritagesitewithboththelargestglacierizedareaandnumberofglaciersisKluane/Wrangell-St.Elias/GlacierBay/Tatshenshini-Alsek(Canada,UnitedStatesofAmerica),whichaccountsforapproximately60%ofthetotalglacierizedareaand30%ofglaciersinWorldHeritagesites,respectively.Theregion33withthelargestglacierizedareaandnumberofglaciersinWorldHeritagesitesisEuropeandNorthAmerica(53,068km2and9,540glaciers)followedbyAsiaandthePacific(9,704km2and7,904glaciers),LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean(3,212km2and1,119glaciers)andAfrica(16km2and37glaciers).

Table1:WorldHeritagesitesrankedbyglacierizedareaandnumberofglaciers

Rank

AllWorld

Heritage

glacierized

sites(50)

Glacierizedareain2000

66,000km2

Numberofglaciers

18,600

1

Kluane/Wrangell-St.Elias/GlacierBay/Tatshenshini-Alsek(Canada,UnitedStatesofAmerica)(39,074km2)

Kluane/Wrangell-St.Elias/GlacierBay/Tatshenshini-Alsek(Canada,UnitedStatesofAmerica)(6,107)

2

Vatnaj?kullNationalPark–DynamicNatureofFireandIce(Iceland)(8,137km2)

TajikNationalPark(MountainsofthePamirs)(Tajikistan)(3,934)

3

TajikNationalPark(MountainsofthePamirs)(Tajikistan)(5,117km2)

TeWahipounamu–SouthWestNewZealand(NewZealand)(2,278)

4

IlulissatIcefjord(Denmark)(2,960km2)

CanadianRockyMountainParks(Canada)(878)

5

LosGlaciaresNationalPark(Argentina)(2,612km2)

HuascaranNationalPark(Peru)(563)

6

XinjiangTianshan(China)(1,925km2)

XinjiangTianshan(China)(467)

7

CanadianRockyMountainParks(Canada)(973km2)

GoldenMountainsofAltai(RussianFederation)

(432)

8

TeWahipounamu–SouthWestNewZealand(NewZealand)(884km2)

WatertonGlacierInternationalPeacePark(Canada,UnitedStatesofAmerica)(407)

9

QinghaiHohXil(China)(724km2)

QinghaiHohXil(China)(362)

10

Aasivissuit–NipisatInuitHuntingGroundbetweenIceandSea(Denmark)(700km2)

LosGlaciaresNationalPark(Argentina)(340)

14

30CalculatedbasedonGLIMSandNSIDC(2005,updated2018)

31OnlytwositesaresituatedinGreenland,Denmark(Aasivissuit

–NipisatandIlulissatIcefjord)

32NositesinAntarctica(theworld’slargestcontinentalicesheet,coveringaround14millionkm2)havebeeninscribedontheUNESCOWorldHeritageList;theConventiondoesnot

applytothatregionbecauseitisoutofnationaljurisdiction.

AccordingtoArticle3oftheConvention,onlyproperties

situatedontheterritoryofasovereignStatecanbeinscribed.

33UNESCOorganizesitsMemberStatesintofiveregional

groups:Africa,ArabStat