Today, Kunene has the largest number of free-roaming black rhino in the world -- the only rhino worldwide living on communally- and traditionally-owned land without formal conservation status.

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Rebecca Willers, from Shepreth Wildlife Park in Cambridgeshire, said charitable status was essential for the park to continue conservation and rescue work.

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Biosphere status is an international accolade which demonstrates how nature conservation and sustainable development go hand in hand.

UNESCO: UK National Commission for UNESCO :: Galloway and southern Ayrshire Biosphere welcomed to worldwide UNESCO network

Often, inscription is seen as a mark of status, rather than an opportunity to contribute to global heritage conservation.

UNESCO: Whither World Heritage?

The species are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List - a comprehensive source of information on the status of wild species facing a high risk of global extinction - as being 'vulnerable'.

BBC: Newquay bred Owston's civets flown to Vietnam