Data Reporting System - Theme: Natural and cultural heritage

Introduction

Heritage cuts across all the other themes. There are natural and cultural heritage places on the land, including inland waters, and in the oceans. Natural heritage includes aspects of biodiversity if they are valued by humans for their contribution to our sense of identity and place, rather than for their intrinsic value or their physical contributions to human life and ecological services. Cultural heritage includes the built environment of human settlements.

Human pressures on all aspects of the wider environment can also impact on heritage. However, because heritage is, by definition, valued by humans, pressures on heritage may also arise from not knowing about it or understanding it, not protecting it by legislation and active protection programs, or not having the skills and resources to conserve it. The issues in this theme are structured to examine these pressures and the resulting condition of Australian heritage.