The Central Suriname Nature Reserve was created in 1998 by Conservation International and the government of Suriname from the fusion of three existing nature reserves: Ralleighvallen, Tafelberg and Eilerts de Haan gebergte. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 for its pristine tropical rainforest ecosystem, and contains 16,000 square kilometres (6,178 sq mi) of both montane and lowland primary tropical forest including sections of the Guyana Highlands.