The natural wonders at risk of vanishing forever

Danger zones

The world is full of natural wonders but many of our most precious landscapes are increasingly at risk. Whether it's the imminent threat of climate change, destructive weather systems or the toll of human impact, some of Earth's most incredible, important and enchanting corners are facing a precarious future.

Wadden Sea, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark

The largest unbroken tidal flats system in the world, the Wadden Sea extends along the coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Covering nearly 5,753 square miles (14,900sqkm), and extending along a coastal strip of about 300 miles (500km), it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique habitats and biodiversity. However, the extraordinarily beautiful coastal landscape faces numerous threats including climate change, fishing, maritime traffic, industry, residential and tourism development.

Wadden Sea, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark

With its endless saltmarshes, sand dunes, mudflats and mussel beds, the vast intertidal system is a haven for millions of migratory birds as well as seals. Its low-lying islands have long been home to seafaring communities too. But this bewitching landscape has already seen changes as the sea encroaches on land (pictured here is erosion along the Dutch coastline) and coastal floods become more frequent. As global warming causes oceans to rise and storms are predicted to become more extreme, the future is looking uncertain.

Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, USA

An area of 1.35 million acres of land considered sacred to indigenous peoples in southeast Utah was designated as the Bears Ears National Monument in 2016, just before Barack Obama left office. But a year later, then-president Donald Trump downsized the area by 85%, opening up parts of the striking landscape, which is characterised by rock plateaus, cliffs and canyons, to mining and drilling. However, since his departure, it's not all bad news. President Joe Biden is hopefully set to reinstate the area's protection boundaries soon, so watch this space.

Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo

Mountainous Kahuzi-Biega National Park is in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and an important refuge for the eastern lowland gorilla. Its mountainous and lowland terrain is also home to hundreds of other species of mammals (including 12 other species of primate) and birds, as well as extremely rare flora. The expansive park is named after two dormant volcanoes, Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega, which rise out of it.

Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo

While the park was created to protect its extraordinary flora and fauna, humankind has begun encroaching on its unique habitats. So much so that UNESCO inscribed it on its List of World Heritage in Danger in 1997 due to threats including poaching and political instability in the region. In recent years some local communities have started logging in parts of the protected area that shelter the critically endangered gorillas, threatening their habitat and way of life.

Vatnajökull, Iceland

Europe’s largest glacier can be found in Vatnajökull National Park, a spectacular protected wilderness area in southwest Iceland. Once stretching over more than a tenth of the country, the UNESCO World Heritage Site now covers a mere 8% of the island. It has a surface area of around 3,127 square miles (8,100sq km) but is shrinking rapidly due to climate change. It’s thought to be retreating by a length of nearly three football fields a year in some places.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

The snowy glaciers at the summit of Africa’s largest mountain are also disappearing – one lost 16.4-foot (5m) in thickness between 2000 and 2009. Others are melting rapidly. The changes could be to do with the increase in temperature in the Indian Ocean, which is altering the climate and winds around the mountain. Experts predict that Kilimanjaro's northern glaciers could completely disappear by 2030.

Amazon rainforest, Brazil

The Amazon rainforest is the single largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, and contains a staggering 10% of the world’s biodiversity. At twice the size of India, the Amazon rainforest and river basin is home to thousands of species of animals, including the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world. You’ll also find caimans, river dolphins, jaguars, sloths, macaws and poison dart frogs.

Amazon rainforest, Brazil

The dense rainforest is also one of our greatest buffers against the climate crisis. However, in the last 50 years alone, the Amazon has lost at least 17% of its forest cover from a combination of deforestation, population density and infrastructure advances. This image shows how significant parts of the rainforest have been turned into farmland for rearing cattle. The shocking fires that consumed great swathes of the natural wonder in 2019 were caused by destructive human activity, as lands are cleared for farming with fire.

Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA

The iconic Joshua trees are what gives California's Joshua Tree National Park its name but as the planet heats up, these unique trees which have dotted the Mojave desert for millennia are dying. Few species of trees have ever been able to grow in the desert conditions of the national park but the cactus-like Joshua trees have always been able to withstand the heat to not only survive but thrive.

Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA

However, many Joshua trees have already perished, unable to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier climate. The saplings with shallow root systems stand little chance of survival now and even some of the mature trees with deeper root systems have been killed off. With temperatures predicted to rise each summer, it’s feared that the desert-dwelling trees could disappear altogether.

New Guinea rainforests

With dense lowland forests and mist-clad tree-covered peaks, the island of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean has a diverse range of ecosystems and an array of endemic species such as tree kangaroos and birds of paradise. Split between Papua New Guinea in the east and the Indonesian province of Papua in the west, it has the largest area of primary tropical forest left in Asia Pacific.

New Guinea rainforests

However, this patch of paradise is fast disappearing. A combination of mining, oil rigging and industrial logging means that New Guinea’s forests, and the species within them, are sadly at risk. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, more than 2% of the forests on the island have already been felled. The production of palm oil is of particular concern as the natural forest is cleared for cultivation of profitable palm trees.

Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

Florida’s Everglades are the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, the largest continuous strand of sawgrass prairie and the most significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America. However, climate change and human development have had devastating effects on the world-famous wetlands. A reduction in water flow and nutrient pollution has put the Everglades National Park in danger, threatening the abundant wildlife that lives in its unique ecosystems.

Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

UNESCO placed the national park on its list of World Heritage in Danger in 2010 after it found that it had suffered a significant reduction of marine and estuarine biodiversity. Invasive species are a threat to its rare and endangered plants and its mangroves are retreating due to rising sea levels. According to analysis by Florida International University, the wetlands are likely to be submerged by seawater within 30 years. Work is ongoing to restore the flow and quality of water.

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

If you go to a national park famed for its glaciers, you’d be hoping to see some. But in Montana’s Glacier National Park, often called the Crown of the Continent, they’re melting. And at a serious rate. In 1900, there were 150 glaciers, now there are 25. Some of the remaining glaciers in the park have shrunk by 85% in the last 50 years.

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Glacier retreat is expected to continue and a model published in 2003 predicted that two of the park's largest glaciers will become inactive by 2030. This means deeper lakes will form when the ice melts, having a huge impact on the rest of the park's ecosystem. Two endemic insects that depend on the snowfields, the western glacier stonefly and the meltwater lednian stonefly, are now protected species.

Madagascar rainforests

A combination of climate change and rampant deforestation is threatening Madagascar’s precious natural landscapes and species. Equivalent to Texas or France in size, the island off the west coast of Africa is home to more than 250,000 species, 70% of which are endemic. But recent research found the country’s iconic ruffed lemurs could lose as much as 93% of their rainforest habitat by 2070.

Madagascar rainforests

Pictured here is a patch of secondary forest that was burned to make way for rice fields in southwest Madagascar. Sadly, the World Wide Fund for Nature reports that less than 10% of its original forest cover exists today, due to land being cleared for cattle, illegal tree cutting and agriculture. Ten of its species of lemurs are critically endangered, seven are endangered and 19 are considered vulnerable. Chameleons, geckos and snakes are also at risk of being captured by the wildlife trade.

Sundarbans Reserve Forest, India and Bangladesh

Set on the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is the world’s largest delta and mangrove forest and a treasure trove of natural wonders. It is home to rare species such as the royal Bengal tiger and Ganges river dolphin. However, as it lies in a low coastal zone, it’s also one of the most vulnerable places in the world to climate change, feeling the full force of coastal floods, earthquakes, cyclones, sea level rise and erosion.

Sundarbans Reserve Forest, India and Bangladesh

As well as natural threats, the mangrove ecosystem has also been impacted by human behaviour, as the region provides important resources for its communities too. Deforestation and the large-scale conversion of mangroves to shrimp farming in the region have also exacerbated the effects of climate change on the precarious low-lying area.

Tusheti National Park, Georgia

A beautiful mountainous region in northeast Georgia, Tusheti is one of the last great remote corners of Europe where bears and rare indigenous species like the Caucasian black grouse and East Caucasian tur roam. However, the region's creatures, spectacular landscapes and unique culture of its far-flung communities could change forever if a new road is constructed. The controversial infrastructure project is yet to be confirmed but if it goes ahead it risks damaging its ecosystems and bringing the inevitable changes that come with more tourists.

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

One of nature’s prettiest and most amazing spectacles, the mass migration of the monarch south every winter to the fir and pine forests of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico is at risk. The reserve, close to Mexico City, is the only place in the world where it’s possible to see millions of the fluttering beauties in a single spot. However, deforestation around the reserve and climate change, as well as habitat loss along the insects' migratory route, are affecting their numbers.

Long Mynd, Shropshire, England

The sight of purple emblazoned across the high heath and moorlands is a common sight in England's Shropshire Hills from late August and into September. But the National Trust raised alarm in 2019 after finding 75% of the heather at Long Mynd in poor health. It was due to a combination of the drought-like conditions and damage from the heather beetle, whose numbers have increased due to milder winters. Exmoor in Devon, another wildlife-rich heathland, was also affected.

Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

One of Africa’s mightiest spectacles, the thundering Victoria Falls is showing the effects of climate change as the region gets hotter and drier. The worst drought in a century reduced its waterfall to a mere trickle in 2019. While seasonal reductions in water levels of the falls, which sits on the Zambezi between Zambia and Zimbabwe, are normal, 2019’s dry season saw an unprecedented decline.

Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

A Zimbabwe government official told the BBC that low water levels are becoming more frequent and that the average flow over the falls in 2019 was down by almost 50% (pictured here in December 2019). While water levels improved a few weeks later after rains fell in the Upper Zambezi River, the level was still much lower than previous years. Ongoing changes to one of Africa's most famous tourist attractions will have widespread ramifications for both the waterfalls’ ecosystems as well as its local economies.

Jurassic Coast, Devon and Dorset, England

The 95-mile (153-km) stretch of coast that runs from Dorset to Devon is one of Britain’s most amazing natural wonders. Its dramatic cliffs, secluded coves, coastal stacks and barrier beaches record 185 million years of Earth’s history. Famed for unique rock formations such as Old Harry Rocks and Durdle Door, this wild landscape has been shaped by erosion and will continue to drastically change its appearance as wetter winters, sea level rise and an increase in storminess accelerate the process of change.

Jurassic Coast, Devon and Dorset, England

Landslides are common along the coastline with bad weather causing the cliffs to become unstable and collapse. Climate change will make the UNESCO World Heritage Site and its communities more vulnerable to the rising sea with more frequent cliff collapses and beach floodings predicted. Pictured is a fresh cliff fall at Burton Bradstock, caused by coastal erosion in March 2020. The coast around Swanage also experienced a severe landslip after Storm Dennis battered the country in February.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

This year, the world’s largest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef experienced its third mass coral bleaching event in five years. Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's fragile coral reef ecosystems. As the Earth's atmosphere and oceans heat up, due to human activities, hotter water temperatures are causing mass coral bleaching events and infectious disease outbreaks to become more frequent. Australia's UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef has also been adversely affected by tropical cyclones.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Vietnam’s enchanting Ha Long Bay is a spectacular sight and one of Asia’s great wonders. With its towering karst formations, clad in dense forestation, the bay has been an UNESCO World Heritage Site for more than 20 years. While Ha Long Bay remains a magical landscape, it faces many environmental challenges as it's become a popular tourist spot.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Previously a long drive from Hanoi, the opening of the new Van Don International Airport last year looks set to put this fragile and photogenic landscape in peril. One pressing and all-too-visible problem is that the UNESCO site has become more polluted with litter, waste and discarded fuel from the many tour boats that chug around its waters. This photo was taken in September 2019.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia is the largest salt flats in the world. The high-altitude desert is an extraordinary sight: a crusty expanse of more than 4,600 square miles (12,000sq km) ringed by volcanoes. When the surface is dry, it looks like a patchwork of brilliant white and when wet, the blue sky and clouds above are reflected perfectly. But the salt flats are also resting on half of the world’s lithium reserves.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Demand for lithium is increasing – it's used in smartphone batteries, for example – and Bolivia is extracting it. Mines and heavy duty machinery digging up the Salar are not just ruining the view but putting the picturesque salt flats at serious risk. The increased traffic and pollution will affect the fragile ecosystem and put pressure on water supply, as well as damage the beauty of one of the world's most incredible geological features.

The Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan

Bordered by Jordan and Israel, the landlocked Dead Sea is the lowest and saltiest body of water on Earth. However, the sea's buoyant waters are now receding, causing sinkholes to appear. The water level of the Dead Sea is said to be dropping by approximately three feet (1m) a year. About 50 years ago, the Dead Sea covered around 386 square miles (1,000sq km), a level that had been largely constant since records began in the early 18th century. It has now shrunk to around 259 square miles (670sq km).

The Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan

Pictured here is an abandoned tourist resort that collapsed into one of the sinkholes in 2016. Sinkholes have formed as a lot less water is now flowing into the Dead Sea from the River Jordan because people have diverted it for irrigation. If this continues, experts have warned that the Dead Sea could dry out by 2050. There are moves to direct more water into the Dead Sea from the River Jordan. Time will tell if it can be restored to its former levels.

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, USA

For hundreds of years, Yellowstone's famous geyser has been expelling thousands of gallons of water every 90 minutes or so, attracting awestruck onlookers eager to snap the moment with their cameras. However, a recent climate assessment report warns the geyser could stop erupting if the park's temperature increases by 5.6°C (10°F) – and that could happen by 2100. It wouldn't be for the first time either. Around 800 years ago, a megadrought affected the area and Old Faithful stopped erupting for 130 years.

General Sherman, Sequoia National Park, California, USA

It's not just the Joshua trees across California who are in trouble. General Sherman, a gargantuan sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, is a thriving giant, the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth, in fact. Measuring a massive 275 feet (84m) high and more than 36 feet (11m) in diameter at the base, the famous tree is at least 2,200 years old. But, while it's still growing, General Sherman does encounter the odd hazard...

General Sherman, Sequoia National Park, California, USA

The ancient tree is no stranger to fires. Over its lifetime, General Sherman – along with other sequoias in the aptly-named Giant Forest – will have survived more than 100 burns, some of which have been started on purpose in order to pop open the trees' cones and release seeds for the next generation to grow. However, the wildfires across California in September 2021 burned hotter, higher and more intensely than ever before. As a precaution, General Sherman was wrapped in protective foil to keep it safe from the potential onslaught. It's survived, for now, but as the climate crisis continues to make wildfires more frequent and destructive, it might only be a matter of time before this giant is dwarfed.

Now discover more of the world's landmarks under threat from climate change