Economy
UNESCO drafts a damning rejection of World Heritage management
*Satire: Karl Stevens
*Pics: Rob Blakers, here
Media Release: International mission requested
The draft decision of the World Heritage Committee, for consideration at its June meeting, represents a damning rejection of the Tasmanian Government’s proposed management of Tasmania’s World Heritage Area and a wake-up call regarding management, funding, cultural heritage and the inadequate conservation status afforded many parts of the area.
The draft decision identifies progressing the cultural heritage study, reinstating wilderness, improving conservation funding and prohibiting logging and mining via upgraded conservation tenure as key actions that need to be taken.
The decision also requests a reactive mission, or international expert field trip, to investigate and ensure the cultural heritage study, management plan and other issues are progressed satisfactorily.
Informed by expert reports from the Committee’s advisory bodies, the draft decision:
• …urges the State Party to review the proposed new management plan for the property to ensure that it provides adequate protection for its OUV, including…recognition of wilderness character of the property as one of its key values and as being fundamental for its management,
• …further urges the State Party to ensure that commercial logging and mining are not permitted within the entire property, and that all areas of public lands within the property’s boundaries… have a status that ensures adequate protection of the OUV of the property,
• Requests the State Party to secure adequate funding for the management of the property…
‘This draft decision is a damning rejection of the Hodgman Government’s proposed management approach and signals it must completely rewrite the management plan for the World Heritage Area and get on with honouring the request to complete a cultural heritage study,’ said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.
‘The draft management plan, with logging, mining and inappropriate tourism development would clearly expose Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt as failing to uphold Australia’s obligations to the World Heritage Convention.
‘Having a place recognised and inscribed as World Heritage is a privilege and great sense of pride for countries all around the world. The Tasmanian Government must embrace this iconic status for the World Heritage Area and ensure the legal, financial and management arrangements are in place.
‘That means upgrading reserve tenure to national park, properly funding the National Parks and Wildlife Service and empowering its managers with a management plan that meets international requirements and maintains wilderness as a central principle and management tool.
‘We welcome recent financial commitments from the Federal Government, but clearly more work needs to be done to meet the expectations of the Committee regarding cultural heritage protection and the study that has been repeatedly requested.
‘Governments should honour the request of the Committee and genuinely engage with the Aboriginal Community to research and report on the incredible cultural heritage values across the Tasmanian Wilderness landscape so they can be properly protected.’
The draft decision can be found at http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2015/whc15-39com-7BAdd-en.pdf
• Dr John R Wilson, in Comments: Being a peaceful gentle person, I was feeling a little remorseful for having sent in such a shocker of a unfriendly submission, saying the draft TWWHA Management Plan was “unacceptable” and needed to be completely re-written. But now I feel vindicated. Thanks, UNESCO …
• Jenny Weber: Tasmanian & Australian Government in embarrassing UNESCO limelight again
• John Hawkins, in Comments: If Harriss and Abetz think that they will ever get FSC for Forestry Tasmania they will have to think again. They have thrown $7 million at trying to buy/gain FSC accreditation and yet they try to roll back the World Heritage Listing of the Western Tiers and invade for commercial gain a World Heritage area. Their actions are predicated by hatred caused by an unspoken fear of those with integrity who do actually care. The common good seemingly never enters the Liberal equation. A party of the the third rate who behave in a third rate manner to produce third world outcomes. The Liberals through their undying hatred of the Greens now present as the riff raff of Tasmania. The world has seen through them. The Liberals through their erratic behaviour seem to be set on destroying the potential of this beautiful place. Why?
• Luke Martin: UNESCO response to draft TWWHA management plan
• Matthew Groom: Government Invites World Heritage Committee Advisors to Tasmania
• Nick McKim: World Heritage Committee lacks trust in Hodgman
• Garry Stannus, in Comments: We’ve come a long way since those proud Doc Evatt times, 70 years ago. Recently it was our unprecedented attempt to renounce our own TWWHA. Then next to attempt to provide for logging and mining in it – an insult to its integrity. Now – to our shame – we are required to ‘show cause’ over our Great Barrier Reef’s WHA status. Liberal Party members and supporters – voters – really have some thinking to do. Perhaps it began with ‘all the way with LBJ’, but certainly John Howard and his successor Tony Abbott (along with his bunch of true-blue ideologues including the obvious clique from Tas). You’d have to think that if the Buddhas of Barmiyan stood in our Tas WHA or along the Great Barrier Reef, these insensitive new-age Liberals would do as we see in Syria, and take to them with blockbusters and jackhammers, all in the name of jobs and progress.
• Ted Mead Satire: Latest visionary development for Macquarie Point …
• O’Brien, in Comments: Perhaps a citizen initiated campaign to help edify the relevant UN parties to the state of affairs in Tasmania and more specifically the compromised agenda(s) within the ‘authorities’ responsible for conservation in this State. Any critical analysis would surely expose just how audacious the greed-heads have become in their plans to flog off our common heritage to a handful of profiteers. It is abundantly clear our elected representatives, our corruption commission or any other relevant public office is unwilling or incapable of putting this thing to right. Please address any and all correspondence to; Mr Feng JING 景 峰 Chief of Asia Pacific Unit F.Jing@unesco.org Tasmania deserves a functioning conservation apparatus staffed by qualified, dedicated conservation professionals, not this gang of cheap jack punks selling it off to their chums. http://whc.unesco.org/en/world-heritage-centre/