Overview
- A joint WRI–UNESCO report finds that 73% of 1,172 non-marine World Heritage sites face severe water scarcity or flood risks.
- Forty percent of sites are experiencing water scarcity, 33% are vulnerable to riverine flooding and 21% face alternating drought and flood conditions.
- Without stronger intervention, the share of sites under high or very high water stress will rise from 40% today to 44% by 2050.
- Regional hotspots such as the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and northern China are especially vulnerable, with sites like Iraq’s Ahwar and Victoria Falls suffering drought and Peru’s Chan-Chan and China’s Yellow Sea–Bohai sanctuaries prone to flooding.
- Targeted measures— including wetland protection, reforestation and transboundary water agreements—can slow or reverse rising threats by treating water as a common good.