Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Okefenokee Swamp. Photo credit: Don Weir
Statement from Katherine Moore, president of Georgia Conservancy:
The Okefenokee marks Georgia’s first World Heritage Site and establishes it as a place and ecosystem worthy of global recognition.
Our hearty congratulations go to our partners at the Okefenokee Swamp Park (OSP), who were instrumental in bringing over four decades of advocacy and support for this designation to a successful conclusion. I’d also like to celebrate our peers and colleagues in the Okefenokee Partnership, a coalition of organizations including Georgia Conservancy, Okefenokee Swamp Park, and many other conservation and local partners. Your tireless coordination and dedication to maintaining the integrity of the Okefenokee has been invaluable for our state.
Complete statement here.
In addition, Rena Peck, Executive Director of Georgia Rivers Network, says in a statement:
This should be a boom for outdoor recreation tourism in Georgia. People plan their travels around World Heritage Sites (I know I do). People want to visit sites that the global community has identified as truly special places. World Heritage Site designation is akin to getting a 30-second ad in the middle of a World Cup soccer match. It says to the world, “Come see what Georgia’s got!”
You may have never visited the Okefenokee and stepped on its trembling earth, but make no mistake, you are connected to it. As we work together to preserve and protect the world’s most special natural and cultural wonders, we do so not just because they are special, but because in ways we may not have even discovered yet, we–the global community–are connected to these places. What happens in our Georgia impacts what happens in the other places called Georgia across the globe.
The science we did on how mining would drain the peat led to the discovery that we have 5x more peat than was earlier estimated, and this became a valuable asset to how the OKE peatlands are of “outstanding universal value” standard required to be considered a World Heritage Site.
UNESCO World Heritage Listing for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites with this designation are chosen for their “Outstanding Universal Value.” Countries nominate locations to the World Heritage Committee which evaluates the site’s integrity, authenticity, and protection management before final designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The list of sites include places like the Grand Canyon, the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
