World Natural Heritage: Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (5)

Heritage value

According to the first point of the second item in the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, “landforms and geological structures that have prominent universal value as well as the natural habitats of endangered plant and animal species are worthy of good protection. The Three Parallel Rivers does not only have peculiar natural sceneries, but also has various kinds of landforms. Furthermore, it has a high level of natural and scientific value in its diversity of endangered wildlife, thus it fits the definition of natural heritage outlined in the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage perfectly. The phenomenon that the rivers flow parallel to each other but do not ever meet is unique and rare in the world.

Furthermore, the rivers are located at the convergence of East Asia, South Asia and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so there are diverse landscapes as well as animal and plant species, which is rare in China’s and even the world’s nature reserves. Therefore, the Three Parallel Rivers is in line with the standards of natural heritage in terms of authenticity. In addition, the Three Parallel Rivers, as an independent nature reserve, has all kinds of geographic and ecologic elements, and has a relatively complete and high grade composition in terms of both quality and quantity. For thousands of years, people had seldom entered the Three Parallel Rivers, so it is extremely well-preserved. The Meili Snow Mountain for example, has been regarded as a holy mountain by the Tibetan people for thousands of years, and they have prohibited climbers from entering the mountain grounds. Therefore, the Three Parallel Rivers is in line with the standards of natural heritage in terms of completeness. Because of its special geographical location, the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is very unique and peculiar compared to other nature reserves. Therefore, it has a high value in terms of ecology, nature, and scientific research, and should be strictly protected as precious heritage.