Te Wahipounamu

Te Wāhipounamu - Southwest New Zealand
UNESCO world heritage
Location of the 4 national parks
National territory:	New Zealand
Type:	nature
Criteria :	vii, viii, ix, x
Reference No .:	551
UNESCO region :	Asia and Pacific
History of enrollment
Enrollment:	1990  (session 14)

Under the name Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area , four national parks and various other protected natural landscapes are grouped together in the southwest and west of the South Island of New Zealand . In total, the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area covers 26,000 km² of New Zealand's South Island , of which around 18,000 km² are in the four national parks. Since 1990, the areas included in the World Heritage of UNESCO .

In the Maori language , Te Wāhipounamu means "jade place". The similar-sounding Te Waipounamu ("jade water") refers to the New Zealand South Island. The Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area is divided into:

1. Westland National Park
2. Mount Cook National Park
3. Mount Aspiring National Park
4. Fiordland National Park

as in

• two protected areas ( nature reserves )
• three areas protected for scientific purposes ( scientific reserves )
• 13 protected landscape areas ( scenic reserves )
• four wildlife sanctuaries ( wildlife management reserves )
• five ecological protection areas ( ecological reserves )
• several listed sites
• a private reserve

Web links

Commons : Te Wahipounamu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Unesco document on the nomination for World Heritage (PDF; 2.6 MB)
• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).