Cape York a step closer to World Heritage

The Wilderness Society (QLD) Inc
Media Release
22 May 2009

The Wilderness Society today welcomed the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments’ decision to prioritise Cape York Peninsula for consideration as a future World Heritage site by including it on Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List.

Anthony Esposito, the Wilderness Society’s National Indigenous Conservation Program Manager, said, “Cape York Peninsula is one of Australia’s great natural treasures and home to rainforests, wild rivers and magnificent wetlands. The long term protection of this region’s outstanding heritage is of importance to all Australians and the global community.”

“Today’s announcement means that this remarkable place will now be considered for World Heritage listing and we congratulate the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments for making this important decision.”

“The Wilderness Society supports World Heritage for Cape York that has the free, prior and informed consent of the region’s Traditional Owners and the support of other landholders. We call on both Governments to now deliver an extensive and adequately resourced negotiation and consultation package to ensure that the best possible World Heritage outcome is achieved,” Mr Esposito concluded.

Cape York is one of the largest intact and most diverse tropical landscapes left on Earth. It is home to more wetlands than Kakadu, boasts the largest tract of tropical rainforest wilderness in Australia and is endowed with the most intact savannah left in the world. It is home to one third of all Australian mammal species and half of the country’s entire bird species.

World Heritage listing has the potential to generate significant economic and employment opportunities for the Cape York community. A recent Commonwealth Government report into the economic activity of Australia’s World Heritage properties found that Australia’s existing World Heritage sites generate $12 billion annually and support over 120,000 jobs nationally.

_{* The Wilderness Society was approached by the Australian newspaper to submit this article but its publication was dropped in preference to other stories, some of which contained misleading and inaccurate commentary on our Indigenous conservation policies.}