An effort is underway to designate the Okefenokee Swamp a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
To highlight the wetlands' natural and ecological value, and its potential to stimulate economic tourism for south Georgia, the Okefenokee Swamp Park Inc. is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in seeking the recognition.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is an arm of the U.N. tasked with promoting international cooperation with education, arts, sciences and culture programs. Through its World Heritage Site program, it highlights places that fit the bill for UNESCO’s mission.
According to a news release from Okefenokee Swamp Park, the reasons the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge should be considered for the UNESCO designation are far and wide. The refuge has a wetlands footprint largely undisturbed since prehistoric times, sequesters significant amounts of carbon, and has an "exceptionally" diverse and abundant ecosystem of flora and fauna.
Additionally, the Okefenokee Swamp Park said the refuge and its surrounding community face challenges a World Heritage status could aid. Uncontrolled wildfires as well as extractive industries around the swamp present challenges, while the nearby community struggles with "persistent economic uncertainty in rural south Georgia."
This latest effort isn't the first time the Okefenokee was in the running for World Heritage Site status. Kim Bednarek, executive director of the Okefenokee Swamp Park, said the swamp was first identified as a potential World Heritage Site in 1982.
“That was 40 years ago,” Bednarek said. “What has really changed is that it’s a partnership and that there’s a local partner that is committed to funding whatever has to happen and then using the Wildlife Services to say, 'This is our time. We want to do this.’”
Credit: Josephine Johnson / For SavannahNow.com
Credit: Josephine Johnson / For SavannahNow.com
UNESCO has a list of 10 criteria it considers. A World Heritage Site must satisfy at least one of them. Bednarek said the Okefenokee wants to be considered for criterion No. 9, unique biological processes; and, criterion No. 10, wildlife diversity. Although it's not as strongly contended, Bednarek said the Okefenokee could also be considered for criterion No. 7, exceptional natural beauty.
There are a few steps the partnership must complete for UNESCO consideration. First, Bednarek said the partners, along with a broad coalition of community members, scientists and more, will build a nomination package identifying the right criterion for designation and presenting research on what the Okefenokee has to merit World Heritage Site status.
The U.S. can only make one nomination per year, and according to a news release from the Okefenokee Swamp Park, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has the support for that nomination from Bryan Arroyo, a Fish and Wildlife representative on the Federal Interagency Panel on World Heritage, which decides nominations.
When it comes to the protections this designation could afford to the swamp, Bednarek said “that is the bazillion dollar question.”
Credit: Josephine Johnson / For SavannahNow.com
Credit: Josephine Johnson / For SavannahNow.com
The public-private partnership between the Okefenokee Swamp Park and USFWS materialized during a heated public debate over a proposed titanium dioxide mine looking to open shop at the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.
While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set back the mine’s owners, Twin Pine Minerals, by expanding federal wetland protections around the swamp earlier this month, conservationists are still looking for ways to thwart the mining project.
Heritage Site status wouldn’t actually change the protections. However, Bednarek said that highlighting the value of the land can be an important argument and tool, demonstrating that the site is worthy of conservation and celebration, and as a catalyst for stimulating the local conservation economy.
In the future, Bednarek said the Heritage Site status could heighten the visibility of the natural processes and ecology of the Okefenokee and discourage activities that would impair the reasons the site received its UNESCO status.
Josh Marks, a lawyer who has coordinated conservation efforts on the swamp for decades, said the partnership is “a fantastic development and long overdue.”
“The enhanced visitation and resulting economic boost for southeast Georgia should prove once and for all that sustainable development and stewardship of our natural resources is the best direction to follow,” Marks said.
Credit: Josephine Johnson / For SavannahNow.com
Credit: Josephine Johnson / For SavannahNow.com
The National Parks Service and Fish and Wildlife are both under the federal Department of Interior. And while the National Parks Service has a variety of World Heritage Sites, such as the Grand Canyon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife can claim no such achievement. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, would be USFWS’s first property to receive World Heritage Site status.
The World Heritage Site would not encompass the entire swamp. The reach will only extend to the parts controlled by Fish and Wildlife.
Marisa is an environmental journalist covering climate change and the environment. She can be reached at mmecke@gannett.com or by phone at (912) 328-4411.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Okefenokee Swamp Park to seek UNESCO World Heritage Site Status for conservation, economy
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