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.^[1] New Zealand accepted the convention on November 22, 1984, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2023, New Zealand has three World Heritage Sites. ^[2]

Tongariro National Park

Te Wahipounamu

Location of World Heritage Sites in New Zealand. The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands (five locations) are not shown on the map.

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.^[3]

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World Heritage Sites

Site	Image	Location (region)	Year listed	UNESCO data	Description
Tongariro National Park		Manawatū-Whanganui	Mixed (vi) (vii) (viii)	1990, 1993	In 1993 Tongariro became the first property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and religious significance for the Maori people and symbolize the spiritual links between this community and its environment. The park has active and extinct volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.[4]
Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand		Otago, Southland, West Coast	Natural (vii) (viii) (ix) (x)	1990	The landscape in this park, situated in south-west New Zealand, has been shaped by successive glaciations into fjords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs, lakes and waterfalls. Two-thirds of the park is covered with southern beech and podocarps, some of which are over 800 years old. The kea, the only alpine parrot in the world, lives in the park, as does the rare and endangered takahe, a large flightless bird.[5]
New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands		New Zealand Subantarctic Islands	Natural (ix) (x)	1998	The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands consist of five island groups (the Snares, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands and Campbell Island) in the Southern Ocean south-east of New Zealand. The islands, lying between the Antarctic and Subtropical Convergences and the seas, have a high level of productivity, biodiversity, wildlife population densities and endemism among birds, plants and invertebrates. They are particularly notable for the large number and diversity of pelagic seabirds and penguins that nest there. There are 126 bird species in total, including 40 seabirds of which eight breed nowhere else in the world.[6]

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