Parks and reserves

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park World Heritage Listing

What is 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:

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:

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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