Saturday, June 23, 2012

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE


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The words 'World Heritage' are quoted so frequently that they lose their power and authority, being rendered meaningless through their familiarity. They become as useless as gobbledigook. Rarely is the original citation ever reveiwed. Because of this, the information on the listing of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a region that includes Springbrook, is included here, as a reference for rememberance - lest we forget.

The Queensland Government's site on Spring brook National Park  http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/springbrook/ notes:

What's special

Spectacular waterfalls, lush rainforest, ancient trees, impressive views, exceptional ecological importance and natural beauty make this Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area an outstanding place to visit.


The link explains in more detail:

 Gondwana Rainforests of Australia

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area, originally listed in 1986 to cover rainforests in New South Wales, was extended in 1994 to include rainforests on the Queensland side of the border.
This property has an area of 366 507ha; 59 223ha is in Queensland.
The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area meets three of the four natural criteria for listing:
  • represents a major stage of the earth's evolutionary history
  • is an outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes.
  • contains the most important natural habitats for conserving biological diversity.
Protected areas in this property include Lamington, Springbrook, Mt Barney and Main Range National Parks. An estimated 2 million people a year visit this World Heritage area.
Before European settlement, these sub-tropical rainforests were probably the most extensive rainforests in Australia. Today, Lamington National Park has the largest remaining area of undisturbed subtropical rainforest.
Less varied than the wet tropical rainforests of north Queensland, these rainforests include warm temperate, cool temperate, sub-tropical and dry rainforests. This property contains the world's most extensive subtropical rainforest and nearly all of the world's Antarctic beech cool temperate rainforest.
Rainforests on both sides of the border contain more frog, snake, bird and marsupial species than anywhere else in Australia. This site provides a home for many rare and threatened plants and animals and ancient life forms.
Sub-tropical rainforest in Lamington and Main Range National Parks provides a home for ground-dwelling birds such as the rare Albert's lyrebird and the endangered eastern bristlebird. Fruit-eating birds such as the endangered Coxen's fig parrot live in open forest in Mt Barney National Park.
The New South Wales and Queensland Governments work together to protect this property.
Read more about Gondwana Rainforests of AustraliaExternal link icon.


The World Heritage listing is a UNESCO initiative. The complete UNESCO World Heritage list for Australia is:

Australia


The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia is item number six on the list. Springbrook shares the significance of this listing with only nineteen other places in Australia. For the complete world-wide list of World Heritage sites see: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list 


The note 1 reads:
Notes
  1. Extension of the "Australian East Coast Temperate and Subtropical Rainforest Park".
    name changed 2007 from 'Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves (Australia)'
     
The details of this listing are itemised at  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/368  The site can be explored, and expanded through all of its links.

 

 

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia

Brief Description

This site, comprising several protected areas, is situated predominantly along the Great Escarpment on Australia’s east coast. The outstanding geological features displayed around shield volcanic craters and the high number of rare and threatened rainforest species are of international significance for science and conservation.

Gondwana rainforests © Tourism Queensland More pictures ...

Historical Description

With the opening of the Gwydir Highway in December 1960, the Gibraltar Range became accessible and moves were initiated to establish a national park. Approximately 14,000ha was reserved for public recreation by notification in the Government Gazette of 8 March 1963 and further 1,425ha was added by notification in the Government Gazette of 17 September 1965. The area was formally created a national park under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1967. Further land was incorporated with the park by proclamation in the Government Gazette of 24 December 1970 (c. 105ha) and 1 July 1977 (c. 1,790ha). Washpool National Park was reserved under the Forestry Revocation and National Parks Reservation Act, 1983. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986.
Source: Advisory Body Evaluation

Notes

  • Extension of the "Australian East Coast Temperate and Subtropical Rainforest Park".
    name changed 2007 from 'Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves (Australia)'

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