The Fight For Protection
Cape York is under the threat of mining and logging, but a World Heritaget listing could save it from its destructive demise.
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| Cape York is known for its unique habitats, iike this rainforest enclosed beach. |
The call of exotic birds, the rustle of millions of leaves and the chirping of random insects are all sounds commonly heard in the rainforests of Cape York. Here, wildlife and rainforest rule the landscape, with hardly a human for miles.
Cape York, a peninsula at the northeastern tip of Australia, is one of the three most wild places left on Earth, according to the Australian Wilderness Society. Ranked up there with the Serengeti Plains of Africa and the Amazon River Basin in South America, Cape York is an environmental hotspot with unmatched ecological diversity and little to no human disturbance.
What makes Cape York different than other environmental hotspots is that it is not protected by one overarching piece of government legislation. Mining and logging industries are allowed to operate legally in the area.
But thanks in large part to the state of Queensland’s government and Australian conservation groups, that could soon change.
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| Rare plants are commonly found throughout Cape York Peninsula. |
In September 2007, the Queensland government passed the Cape York Heritage Bill that will both enforce the protection of the unique ecosystems throughout Cape York and create a geographical boundary showing where a future World Heritage site could exist—one of the requirements needed when applying for World Heritage listing.
Started in 1972, World Heritage status is awarded to areas based on four main criteria, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which oversees the World Heritage program. Sites must contain natural beauty and aesthetic appeal, show stages in the evolutionary history of the Earth, display ongoing ecological and biological processes and contain unique habitats worthy of conservation.
There are 833 World Heritage sites in the world. The full list is on the World Heritage
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Web site at whc.nesco.org/en/list.
With the Wet Tropics World Heritage area at its base and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area along its coast, Cape York is in a prime location for such protection. It has the potential to be the keystone of what would become the largest network of World Heritage areas in the world. (see map)
But World Heritage listing for Cape York is not unanimously supported among Cape York’s residents. Concerns include whether the mining and logging industry would be allowed to continue.
“Locals might find it hard to give up revenue in favor of conserving wilderness, especially as it is a financially poor area,” said Lyndon Schneiders, the Northern Australia program manager for the Australia Wilderness Society. Schneiders has been overseeing the push for World Heritage protection for Cape York for the past nine years.
Gaining the understanding and cooperation of the locals is sometimes a challenge, but Cape York is worth the work because of its immeasurable natural value, Schneiders said. He has no misconceptions about how easy or difficult it will be to get Cape York listed, though.
“It’s for sure that protection on this scale is going to take a fair bit of time, because
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there’s always debate,” Schneiders said.
Members of Australia’s Wilderness Society have pushed for World Heritage protection of Cape York for 20 years. Now it is one step closer.
The listing establishes a conservation plan for an area, making sure all environmental issues are addressed and will continue to be addressed.
Listing also initiates a monitoring program, which allows the conservation plan to adapt to increasing environmental stress over time. And listing increases accessibility to an area through funding and education—allowing land managers to create research centers and tours through protected areas. Finally, World Heritage listing promises an area emergency relief in the event of a catastrophe.
The Opposition
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| World Heritage areas in Australia. Illustration by Summi Gambhir |
Though World Heritage listing has obvious perks, not everyone is convinced it is necessary for an area to thrive. David Cooper, a guide at the Daintree Discovery Centre in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, said the listing is not that important for most of Cape York.
“We don’t know if it is worth the paper it’s written on,” Cooper said.
He said that the listing does not alter the rules or regulations of a national park, which Cape York is currently operating under.
Having national park status means that Cape York already has protection and that people can visit, a win-win situation. “Basically, the land is protected and people get to see it,” said Cooper.
He also pointed out that though some attention for an area can make people respectful and protective, too much attention can foster overuse and manipulation.
“Otherwise healthy areas can be ruined by tourism,” Cooper said.
The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area, a 35 million hectare underwater ecosystem comprised predominantly of highly sensitive coral reefs has been negatively impacted by the listing.
Grant Raicezich, a marine biologist and dive instructor who has studied the Great Barrier Reef for the past 20 years, suggests that increased tourism since World Heritage listing is contributing to the death of the reef system.
Divers molesting the reef are among factors that endanger it, said Raicezich.
And the designation can also mean pushing certain businesses out.
The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, where Cooper lives and works, is a 900,000 hectare rainforest stretching between Cooktown and Townsville. It was listed in 1988, when locals still made their living by logging the rainforest. Logging was immediately banned, which put a heavy economic strain on the people, Cooper said.
Terry Rogers, another resident of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, has a different take. She remembers stories from loggers and sawmill operators who lost their businesses, and suggests that they may not have been as adversely affected as some might think.
“The locals were not happy, but they moved on,” Rogers said. She adds that a town historically based on logging just down the road from her residence is still there, and is now a thriving tourist area. “Some of the same families are there to this day, and doing much better now too.”
Like Cooper, Rogers works in the Wet Tropics World Heritage area, managing a hostel called Crocodylus. The large number of permits and inspections required make it difficult to do business in a World Heritage area, Rogers said. “But the reward is that you get to be part of the most beautiful place on Earth.”
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