# List of World Heritage Sites in New Zealand

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. New Zealand accepted the convention on 22 November 1984, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.
There are three World Heritage Sites in New Zealand and a further eight sites on the tentative list. The first two sites were listed in 1990 and the third one in 1998. Tongariro National Park is listed for its cultural and natural significance while the other two sites are natural. New Zealand has served on the World Heritage Committee once.

## World Heritage Sites

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.
World Heritage Sites :
| Site | Location (region) | Year listed | UNESCO data | Description |
| Tongariro National Park | Manawatū-Whanganui | 1990 | 421bis; vi, vii, viii (mixed) | Located at the terminus of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the park has active and extinct volcanoes, craters, vents, lava fields, and lakes. There are signs of glacial activity, with the remaining glaciers being limited to the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. There are diverse habitat types, including lowland broadleaf rainforests, southern beech forests, and ice fields at high elevations. In 1990, the site was listed due to its natural significance, however, following the revised criteria, in 1993 it became the first site to be listed under the criteria for a cultural landscape. The mountains are sacred to the Māori people as they signify the spiritual link between the people and nature. |
| Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand | Otago, Southland, West Coast | 1990 | 551; vii, viii, ix, x (natural) | This large national park covers 10% of New Zealand's landmass. It is located on the coast of the south-west part of the South Island and contains parts of the Southern Alps mountain range. The landscape has been shaped by glaciers and there are fjords, gorges, and a rugged coastline. The flora and fauna are representative of the ancient Gondwana biota that has survived here longer than elsewhere due to the isolation of the islands. There are southern beech and podocarp forests, temperate rainforests, grasslands, and wetlands. The absence of mammalian predators resulted in the evolution of particular fauna that includes the southern brown kiwi, takahē, and kea. The kākāpō parrot lived on the mainland until the early 1980s, but now survives only on some offshore islands. |
| New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands | New Zealand Subantarctic Islands | 1998 | 877; ix, x (natural) | This site comprises five groups of islands in the Southern Ocean: Antipodes, Auckland, Bounty, the Snares, and Campbell Islands. Located in a highly productive ocean, they are home to large and diverse communities of seabirds and penguins, including some species that live only here. There are ten species of albatross, the rare Bounty shag, and large numbers of sooty shearwaters. The islands are home to the majority of New Zealand sea lions (a group on the Enderby Island pictured) and the waters are breeding areas for the southern right whale. The typical flora on the islands are the megaherbs, plants that have evolved to large sizes as an adaptation to the harsh environment. |

## Tentative list

In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. New Zealand maintains eight properties on its tentative list.