The research briefly presents the emergence and globalization of the concept of natural heritage, while analyzing the reasons why it does not enjoy a proper legal form. In the article we will analyze this environmental heritage from the perspective of the traditional features and elements of this legal institution, obviously adapted to the specifics of the environmental law branch. The researched topic is a current one, despite the existence of radical opinions regarding the concept of environmental heritage. We consider that we are able to state that, despite its imperfections, patrimonial as it is presented in the theory of private law, has all the data to be able to be used, adapted and introduced within a branch of law with certain specific particularities, to fulfill very close functions in terms of form and content.