Committee decision requests implementation of wilderness protection …

… and stakeholder negotiations on tourism plan

• Tasmanian Government’s 2015 draft management plan weakened protections
• Committee wants better wilderness protection, fire management and strict tourism criteria
• Tourism Master Plan should precede the finalisation of the TWWHA management Plan

Overnight in Istanbul, the World Heritage Committee has explicitly requested the Australian and Tasmanian Governments implement the recommendations of an expert mission, including the protection of wilderness and the development of a ‘Tourism Master Plan’ in ‘consultation and negotiation’ with stakeholders.

The World Heritage Committee sent a mission to Tasmania last year after the state government released a draft management plan in 2015 that allowed commercial logging and weakened wilderness protection to allow controversial tourism development including new helicopter access and built tourist accommodation in wilderness areas.

On Wednesday, the Tasmanian Planning Commission identified that Government had ‘inadequately addressed’ community concerns that the protection of wilderness has been dropped as a specific management objective of the proposed new TWWHA Management Plan.

“This decision reinforces the recommendations of the UN mission and requests Government to implement them. This includes measures to protect all wilderness, as an outstanding value of the area, as well as strict criteria for tourism development assessment,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.

“This decision explicitly identifies that the proposed Tourism Master Plan for the TWWHA is to be ‘elaborated…based on consultation and negotiation with relevant stakeholders’. As one of many stakeholders, we look forward to involvement in the elaboration of this plan and call on Government to outline the proposed process to deliver the Tourism Master Plan and how stakeholders will be consulted and negotiated with.

“To avoid pre-empting this Tourism Master Plan, the finalisation of a new TWWHA Management Plan should be delayed until consultations and negotiations are held.

Following the destructive fires of the 2016 summer, there is welcome acknowledgement in the decision of the devastating potential of climate-induced wildfires and a request that the new Management Plan for the TWWHA reflects fire research and management issues.

“Government has several critically important steps to complete before it finalises the controversial Management Plan for the TWWHA. This includes retaining protections for wilderness, reinstating fire-management protocols and negotiating with stakeholders over the Tourism Master Plan.”

The report of the UN mission is and its recomendations can be found here: http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/140379/
The decision can be found on the 2016 tab here: http://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/3442
Vica Bayley Tasmanian Campaign Manager The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc.