Christmas Island National Park Management Plan

Environment Australia, 2002
ISBN 0642548289

PDF file

About the Plan

Christmas Island supports a wide range of unique and unusual species and habitats, and is of great international conservation and scientific interest. Although the island has been mined for phosphates for much of the past century, most of its natural ecosystem remains intact.

The declaration of the Christmas Island National Park in 1980, and extensions in 1986 and 1989, placed over sixty percent of the island under the formal protection of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 (now the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). The Park provides the last remaining nesting habitat for the endangered Abbott's Booby and Christmas Island Frigatebird, and supports many endemic plants and animals as well as many species of land crabs. The island's geology, unique rainforest, and spectacular views are well represented in the Park. The Park's significance for conservation is reflected in the large number of nationally listed species (endangered and migratory), many of which depend on the Park for their survival.

This, the third Management Plan for Christmas Island National Park, was prepared by Parks Australia staff. The Plan takes into account representations made in response to an invitation for public input requested in December 1998, and comments received on the draft Plan released in February 2000 and subsequent on-island meetings.

The next seven years are likely to see considerable change on the island with the continuing development of the tourism industry and other enterprises. It is inevitable that the Park will face greater pressures. Relatively undisturbed natural areas are an increasingly scarce resource in the context of a globally expanding population and the loss of natural habitats, particularly in the tropics. The island's unique tropical rainforest, large variety of endemic plants and animals, extensive coral reefs and spectacular landscapes are outstanding natural features. Maximising the opportunity for people to appreciate these, without damaging the environment is a major management challenge.

Meeting the challenge will require the involvement and support of the Christmas Island Community - and the wider world community. The purpose of this Management Plan is to establish the framework to continue to conserve the Park and its values, in the face of the pressures that will be placed upon it in the next seven years.

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