Brief synthesisHeard and McDonald Islands are remote sub-Antarctic volcanic islands located in the southern Indian Ocean about half-way between Australia and South Africa, and just over 1,600 kilometres from Antarctica. Heard Island’s relatively shallow and fast-flowing glaciers respond quickly to climate change, faster than any glaciers elsewhere, making them particularly important in monitoring climate change. Criterion (ix): Heard Island and McDonald Islands are outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological, biological, and evolutionary processes. Endemic species demonstrating ongoing evolutionary processes include the Heard Island cormorant, the endemic subspecies of the Heard Island sheathbill, and a number of endemic invertebrates (some endemic to Heard and McDonald Islands, and some endemic to the Heard and McDonald Islands-Kerguelen region). In 2007 the Heard and McDonald Islands World Heritage Area was added to the National Heritage List in recognition of its national heritage significance.