The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has joined eight other non-profit conservation organisations to call for action to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites from industrial mining, oil and gas activities, at the IUCN World Parks Congress held on Monday in Sydney, Australia.
Conservation organisations include the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Nature Conservancy, The WILD Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF. 
According to the African Wildlife Foundation, despite international recognition as flagship protected areas, the growing demand for natural resources has meant that around a quarter of natural World Heritage Sites are now under threat from commercial mining, oil or gas exploration or extraction in and around their borders.
Professor Jonathan Baillie, Director of Conservation at ZSL, said: “World Heritage Sites cover less than 1% of the earth’s land surface and represent some of the most biologically important and magical places on earth. It is essential that governments and the conservation community take a firm stand against these sites being degraded or destroyed by mining or oil and gas exploitation.  If these sites cannot be protected for future generations and all life, then we have little hope of protecting anything.’’
“It is a lengthy, arduous process to get a place listed as a World Heritage Site,” says African Wildlife Foundation Program Design Director, Dr Karen Ross. “Once that esteemed designation is given, though, it lends a much-needed extra layer of protection for these areas. They are natural wonders with outstanding universal value and nothing should be allowed to destroy or disrupt that value. Such sites should be sacred.”
High-profile examples where extractive activities have threatened World Heritage Sites include Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, the Virgin Komi Forests in Russia and the Belize Barrier Reef System.