Kermadec Islands and Marine reserve
New ZealandDepartment of Conservation
Northland - Pacific Island archepelago
Word FileDisclaimer
The Tentative Lists of States Parties are published by the World Heritage Centre at its website and/or in working documents in order to ensure transparency, access to information and to facilitate harmonization of Tentative Lists at regional and thematic levels.
The sole responsibility for the content of each Tentative List lies with the State Party concerned. The publication of the Tentative Lists does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the World Heritage Committee or of the World Heritage Centre or of the Secretariat of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its boundaries.
Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party
Description
The Kermadec archipelago contains the northernmost land and territorial seas in New Zealand. Raoul Island (Rangitahua) is by far the largest (2900 ha) of the 15 islands, which are spread as four clusters in a line over 250 km of the Pacific Ocean (Latitude 29º - 32º S and Longitude 177º - 179º W), about 1100 km north-east of the Northland coast. The site for immediate consideration consists of:
- the Kermadec Islands: Raoul, Macauley, Curtis, Cheeseman, the Meyer Islands, and the other smaller islands of the group, and
- the large (748,000 hectares) Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve surrounding the islands.
In the longer term, extensions to the site SSW along the Kermadec Ridge to include a representative group of seamounts and the active marine volcano, White Island will be considered.
Statements of authenticity and/or integrity
Both reserves are among the most strictly protected in New Zealand. The marine reserve encompasses a very wide range of underwater landforms and marine ecosystems. Past human occupation has modified the indigenous flora and fauna of the islands but in the last 15 years impressive rehabilitation progress has been made in the removal of weeds and pests from all the affected islands in the group.