1. JAPONIA
Wyspa Amami-Oshima, wyspa Tokunoshima, północna część wyspy Okinawa i wyspa Iriomote
Encompassing 42,698 hectares of subtropical rainforests on four islands on a chain located in the southwest of Japan, the serial site forms an arc on the boundary of the East China Sea and Philippine Sea whose highest point, Mount Yuwandake on Amami-Oshima Island, rises 694 meters above sea level.
Entirely uninhabited by humans, Japan’s Mangrove forest has high biodiversity value with a very high percentage of endemic species / © MOEJ
Entirely uninhabited by humans, the site has high biodiversity value with a very high percentage of endemic species, many of them globally threatened. The site is home to endemic plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, inland water fish and decapod crustaceans, including, for example, the endangered Amami Rabbit and the endangered Ryukyu Long-haired Rad that represent ancient lineages and have no living relatives anywhere in the world.
Five mammal species, three bird species, and three amphibian species in the property have been identified globally as Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species. There are also a number of different endemic species confined to each respective island that are not found elsewhere in the property.