World Heritage and international significance
video: World Heritage
World Heritage listing | UNESCO Picasso Gold Medal Winner
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is one of the few World Heritage properties listed for both its natural and cultural values. It was first listed in 1987 for two natural criteria:
- an outstanding example representing significant ongoing geological processes, biological evolution and man's interaction with his natural environment, and
- contains unique, rare or superlative natural phenomena, formations or features or areas of exceptional natural beauty, such as superlative examples of most important ecosystems to man, natural features, sweeping vistas covered by natural vegetation and exceptional combinations of natural or cultural elements.
Cultural Landscape
In 1994 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park became the second property in the world to be listed as a cultural landscape. It was successfully nominated as a World Heritage property under this category because it is:
- a cultural landscape representing the combined work of nature and of man, manifesting the interaction between humankind and its natural environment, and
- an associative landscape having powerful religious, artistic and cultural associations of the natural element.
World Heritage
Australia was one of the first countries in the world to sign the World Heritage Convention, which came into force in 1975. As of May 2007 there were 183 state parties to the Convention. Of these 139 had properties inscribed on the list. The list consists of a total of 830 properties, 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed. Australia has 16 properties inscribed on the World Heritage list.
The World Heritage Convention was created in response to human kind causing widespread change and damage to natural areas. By the 1970's many people all over the world were trying to think of ways of looking after the natural heritage of the earth for future generations. In the 1980's the World Heritage Committee also began to consider the need to conserve and protect the world's cultural heritage for future generations.
The World Heritage Convention aims to:
- promote co-operation among nations to protect world wide heritage which is of such international value that its conservation is a concern for all people
- commit signatory nations to help in the identification, protection, conservation and presentation of World Heritage properties
- encourage signatory nations, with international assistance where appropriate, to "adopt a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage function in the life of the community and to integrate the protection of that heritage into comprehensive planning programs"
- oblige signatory nations to refrain from "any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage" and to "take the appropriate legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures"' necessary for its protection.
Australia was the first country in the world to enact specific legislation to protect World Heritage Areas, which is now covered within the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Only one other country, South Africa, has specific World Heritage legislation. World Heritage Listing does not affect property rights. Ownership remains as it was before listing, and state and local laws still apply to the listed properties. The areas do not become government property, nor does control pass into the hands of any international body or foreign power.
Nominations for the World Heritage List are made by the Australian Government in consultation with state and territory governments, local communities, and after seeking advice, from specialist agencies such as the Department of the Environment and Water Resources and CSIRO. Nominations are then considered by the World Heritage Committee.
Anangu and World Heritage
The listing of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park as a World Heritage Property for its natural and cultural values represents years of work by Anangu to assert their role as custodians of their traditional lands. This international recognition is a significant victory for Anangu as it confirms the validity of Tjukurpa as being the primary tool for looking after country.
The independent International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) which assessed the cultural values of Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park for the World Heritage Council gave international recognition of:
- Tjukurpa as a religious philosophy linking Anangu to their environment,
- Anangu culture as an integral part of the landscape,
- Anangu understanding of and interaction with the landscape.
This is one of the reasons Anangu want people to refer to the lands of the park by their traditional names Uluru and Kata Tjuta, not the non-Anangu names given by people from elsewhere.
Benefits for Visitors
The listing of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park ensures the park remains a world class destination for both its cultural and natural heritage. Visitors will continue to have an unique cultural experience at the park and leave knowing that the park is managed according to cultural practices that date back tens of thousands of years.
Since listing the park as World Heritage annual visitor numbers have risen to over 400,000 visitors in the year 2000. Increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.
The listing of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park as a doubly-listed World Heritage Area is a source of pride for all Australians.
The World Heritage listings also mean that we all have a responsibility to look after Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for future generations.
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- World Heritage (PDF - 196 KB)
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