The National Trust owns almost half the stretch of coast. Richard Offen, campaign manager of the Neptune Coastline project to acquire 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of British coastline, said: "This really is Jurassic joy for all those who love this spectacular stretch of coastline and want to ensure our natural heritage is protected.
"The coastline already attracts large numbers of visitors during the summer months but the broader designation should ensure that interest continues through the winter months as well, because of the scientific interest and the constant exposure of the coastline due to erosion."
The coast was among 49 sites proposed by 32 countries, considered at a Unesco meeting this week in Helsinki.
The Unesco list of the most important sites in the world is divided into cultural and natural sites. Britain already has 21 sites on the World Heritage list, but almost all are castles and cathedrals. The coastline joins a handful of natural sites including the Giant's Causeway, and tiny Pitcairn Island.
Although the World Heritage Site status gives no specific legal protection, the signatory governments are committed to giving special consideration to preserving them. Parts of the coastline are threatened with development—although the geology which created and exposes the fossils means that clifftop housing tends not to survive for long. The activities of amateur fossil hunters on some of the most popular stretches have also been causing concern.
Other natural sites added this week include the Swiss Alps, Brazilian tropical grasslands in the Cerrado ecoregion, the Caribbean's richest mountain forest in eastern Cuba, and the forests of the Siberian tiger. Britain has three other sites, Derwent Valley mills in Derbyshire, Saltaire in West Yorkshire, and New Lanark in South Lanarkshire, iconic sites in the development of the industrial revolution, which were being considered this week.
Copright 2001 Guardian Newspapers Limited
