Okefenokee Swamp inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site  

ATLANTA — Today the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as a World Heritage Site, recognizing its outstanding global value as North America’s largest blackwater swamp.

Joining iconic natural treasures like the Great Barrier Reef, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Iguazu Falls, the Okefenokee Swamp has been recognized for its “outstanding universal value to humanity.” This historic milestone makes the Okefenokee the 27th World Heritage Site in the United States, Georgia’s first, and the first new U.S. natural World Heritage Site added in more than 30 years.

The Okefenokee is home to over 1200 unique species of plants and animals and is the largest remaining undisturbed peat deposit on the North American Coastal Plain. As a result of the leadership and longstanding work by Okefenokee Swamp Park, it is now officially recognized as one of the world’s most treasured landscapes.

“This is a day worth celebrating for Georgia, for the Okefenokee, and for everyone who believed this extraordinary place deserves global recognition,” said Megan Huynh, Leader of SELC’s Wetlands and Coasts Program. “We are grateful for the Okefenokee Swamp Park’s leadership and the many partners whose years of dedication helped make this historic achievement possible. There’s no other place like the Okefenokee Swamp and this designation honors its unmatched biodiversity, wild beauty, and ecological importance.”