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Wet Tropics of Queensland
- World Heritage Area
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World Heritage- What does it mean? |
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Adopted by UNESCO in 1972. Australia became a signatory in
1974.
The term World Heritage is applied to sites of outstanding universal
natural or cultural significance which are included n the World
Heritage List
The World Heritage Convention aims to promote cooperation among
nations to protect natural and cultural heritage.
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| World Heritage
sites can be world heritage listed as: |
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Natural
To be World Heritage listed for
its NATURAL values, the area has to meet one of the following: |
- represent a major stage of the earth's
evolutionary history; or
- provide outstanding examples of
ongoing geological and biological processes; or
- contain superlative natural phenomena
or areas of natural beauty; or
- contain the most important natural
habitats for the conservation of biological diversity.
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Cultural
To be World Heritage listed
for its CULTURAL values, the area has to meet one of the following:
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- Represent a masterpiece of human creative
genius;
- exhibit an important interchange of human
values on developments in architecture, monumental arts, town
planning and landscape design;
- bear a unique testimony to a cultural
tradition or to a civilisation which is living or which has
disappeared;
- be an outstanding example of a type of
building or architectural ensemble or landscape which illustrates
a significant stage in human history;
- be an outstanding example traditional
human settlement or land use which is representative of a culture
(cultures);
- be directly associated with events or
living traditions, with ideas of beliefs, with artistic and
literary works of outstanding universal significance.
World Heritage
Facts and Figures
(as at December 1998)
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- Signatories to the WH Convention 155
- World Heritage Sites (Global) 552
- Cultural 418
- Natural 114
- Both 20
- World Heritage Sites in Australia 13
- Natural 9
- Both 4
World Heritage
Sites in Australia 13 WH Sites in Australia
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The Wet Tropics of Queensland
WHA
Total Area 894 420 hectares |
- Stretching 450 kilometres
(along the North Qld Coast)
- Boundary 3000 kilometres
(approx.)
- Tenure 738 (separate
land parcels)
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Natural Significance
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- Listed in December 1988.
- Fulfills all
four criteria described for inclusion of
properties on the WH list as a natural heritage.
- Contains some of the oldest
continuously surviving rainforests on earth.
- Only significant World Heritage
listed tropical rainforest in a developed country.
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| Cultural
Significance |
- The Wet Tropics of Queensland was not
listed for its cultural values. Further research is being undertaken
to determine if a case exists for renomination of the area on
the basis of cultural values.
- There are approximately 16 Aboriginal
language groups whose territory includes parts of the Wet Tropics
region.
- To Aboriginal people, the Area is a highly
significant cultural landscape. Elements of the natural environment
are seen as links to ancestral times when the landscape was
formed.
Threats to the WH Values |
- FERAL ANIMALS
- 20 species of undesirable animals such as pigs, dogs, cats
and cane toads
- WEEDS
- 47 species of undesirable plants such as Thunbergia, Harungana
and Singapore Daisy
Ongoing Disturbance
POWERLINES
- 300 kilometres of transmission lines
- 3 hydro-electric power stations
ROADS
- 1285 kilometres of roads
DAMS
- 3 major dams
- 27 weirs and associated infrastructure
- 71 private water supplies
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Endangered Plants
and Animals
ANIMALS
Presently 76 species of rainforest fauna are considered rare or
threatened.
PLANTS
Of the 433 species officially listed as rare and threatened for
the bioregion, 383 are conserved within the WHA.
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| Source: Wet Topics
Management Authority |
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