UNESCO declares Aqaba marine reserve in Jordan a World Heritage Site

The Aqaba marine reserve, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea in Jordan, has officially been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This significant designation celebrates the area's rich coral reef ecosystem, which hosts a remarkable level of biodiversity, including species facing extinction.

The decision was made during UNESCO's annual assembly in Busan, South Korea. The Aqaba reserve is particularly noted for its heat-resistant corals. It is home to approximately 61% of all endemic hard coral species found in the Red Sea and over 80 endemic fish species, underscoring its unique ecological value.

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This inscription is a historic milestone for us. It is the first property of Jordan inscribed under the category of Natural World Heritage and reflects the outstanding universal value of one of the notable coral reef ecosystems.

Jordan's delegation hailed the inscription as a historic milestone, emphasizing that it is the first natural World Heritage property for the country. They affirmed Jordan's "firm commitment" to conserving the reserve's "outstanding universal value" and acknowledged that protecting shared marine ecosystems requires cross-border collaboration.

Established in 1977 and reclassified as a marine reserve in 2020, the Aqaba marine park has faced challenges from marine pollution, tourism, and unsustainable fishing. Its biodiversity and the resilience of its coral reefs to climate change, attributed to evolutionary adaptations towards heat-resistant genotypes, are key factors in its global significance. Water currents and wind patterns also play a role in mitigating the effects of rising sea temperatures.

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Jordan maintains a 'firm commitment' to the conservation and safeguarding of World Heritage and the 'outstanding universal value' of the Aqaba marine reserve, recognizing that the protection of shared marine ecosystems depends on collaboration that 'transcends borders'.