I am delighted to announce that the World Heritage Committee today released its positive decision on the state of conservation of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The decision is a major milestone for Australia. It acknowledges the progress we have made in addressing past requests of the World Heritage Committee, and commends the commitment of the Australian and Tasmanian governments in having accepted all 20 recommendations of the November 2015 monitoring mission to the property.
The mission’s recommendations will be implemented through the new management plan for the property and through other statutory measures.
The World Heritage Committee has commended Australia’s adoption of new measures to manage the property such as:
• ruling out mining and commercial logging, including harvesting of special species timbers, in the whole of the property
• a practical step by step approach to preparing a cultural heritage study for the Tasmanian Wilderness as recommended by the reactive monitoring mission
• the Australian Government providing $575,000 to the Tasmanian Government to help it work with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community to put together more detailed information on the cultural values of the property.
The Tasmanian and Australian governments will work together to ensure the Tasmanian Wilderness continues to be managed in accordance with our obligations under the World Heritage Convention.
The Australian and Tasmanian governments are fully committed to protecting the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage area and ensuring its integrity is maintained, and will continue to provide the resources necessary to support the effective management of this iconic natural and cultural heritage property.
The World Heritage Committee is meeting in its 40th session in Istanbul, Turkey, from 10-20 July.
(ENDS)