iucn mission to tasmanian wilderness, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
Tasmanian Wilderness,AustraliaPhoto gallery
© IU
CN
/ Ti
lman
Jae
ger
© IU
CN
/ Ti
lman
Jae
ger
A World Heritage site since 1982, Tasmanian Wilderness in Australia covers over 1.5 million hectares, roughly one fourth of Tasmania.
© IU
CN
/ Ti
lman
Jae
ger
It is a rare site inscribed for both cultural and natural values, boasting as many as seven out of 10 criteria for World Heritage status.
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CN
/ Ti
lman
Jae
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IUCN and ICOMOS – the advisory bodies on natural and cultural World Heritage respectively – recently carried out a mission to the site to assess its state of conservation.
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CN
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Jae
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Vast tracts of Tasmanian Wilderness are difficult to access, such as these remote forests dotted by scenic lakes in the heart of the site.
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CN
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It is believed that most of Tasmania’s buttongrass moorlands have been strongly influenced by historic aboriginal fire management.
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Some eucalypt species can live well beyond 400 years. Remarkably, the site’s mature tall eucalypt forests form a canopy above a temperate rainforest made up of completely distinct tree species.
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CN
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lman
Jae
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The higher parts of Tasmanian Wilderness tend to be rocky and covered in alpine vegetation, such as this area in the Northeast.
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lman
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The remote coasts in the south and southwest of Tasmanian Wilderness are among the world’s wildest temperate coastal areas.
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Easily accessible, Mount Field National Park and its well-known Russell Falls became part of the World Heritage area in 2013.
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A large dam built in the 1970s created Lake Gordon, which is not part of the World Heritage site but is surrounded by it.
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Commercial logging occurs near the Tasmanian Wilderness. A road has recently opened access to this forest to the east of the site.
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Intensive forestry has been taking place for decades in some of the land outside the site, oft converting natural forests with plantations.
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The IUCN-ICOMOS mission report presents 20 recommendations, such as to clearly commit to no-go for commercial logging in the site and support joint management with the Aboriginal community.
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Tasmanian Wilderness and over 60 other natural World Heritage sites will be discussed at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, from 10 to 20 July 2016.
