In 2001, UNESCO placed Central Sikhote-Alin onto the World Heritage List, citing its importance for the survival of endangered species such as the scaly-sided (Chinese) merganser, Blakiston's fish-owl and the Amur tiger. The World Heritage site had a total area of , of which the terrestrial core zone of Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik comprised . In 2018, the World heritage site was expanded by by including Bikin National Park under the name Bikin River Valley.