Cape York Has Been Nominated to Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

The first steps have been made towards having the cultural landscapes of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Australian and Queensland Governments, in partnership with Cape York Traditional Owner groups, have nominated to recognise and protect the Cape York region’s complex natural environment and rich Indigenous culture which continues today.

Alwyn Lyall, Possum & Kuku Warra, says, ‘I welcome the World Heritage Tentative Listing of my ancestors’ country and existence. Cultural heritage is of great importance to me, Australia, and future generations. We welcome the opportunity to be heard’.

Wuthathi Country dunes and lagoons | Image thanks to Australian Government (DCCEEW)

Protecting Country and Culture

A UNESCO World Heritage listing would give global recognition to the Cape York Peninsula as an area of irreplaceable significance that needs to be protected for future generations.

The area’s cultural history includes tens of thousands of years of Traditional Owner beliefs, customs, and practices. Rock art can be found across the region which details these beliefs, practices, and connections to Country.

‘The tentative listing of Cape York Peninsula follows an extensive period of consultation and information gathering across the community and today we celebrate reaching this milestone with stakeholders’, says the Hon Leanne Linard MP, Queensland Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef. ‘As part of this tentative listing process, I have been fortunate to visit some very special locations on Cape York Peninsula and see important cultural and natural sites through the eyes of the traditional owners, who have lived on these lands for tens-of-thousands of years, and listened to their stories’.

The Peninsula is also home to 18.5% of Australian plant species, and over 300 threatened species, including the Green sawfish, Cape York rock wallaby, and Southern cassowary.

Archer River in the Oyala Thumotang NP | Image thanks to Australian Government (DCCEEW)

A Long Journey to World Heritage Listing

The nomination to Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List is the first step in a years-long World Heritage nomination process. As part of the process, countries must submit their ‘Tentative List’ – places they consider to be of cultural and/or natural heritage. The World Heritage Committee won’t consider a nomination for a heritage listing unless it’s first been included on the country’s Tentative List.

The process will be an ongoing partnership between Traditional Owners and the federal and Queensland governments, in consultation with the local community as well.

Rather than nominating the entire Cape York Peninsula, seven different areas have been named for the Tentative List:

1. Alwal National Park
2. KULLA / McIlwraith Range National Park
3. Ma’alpiku / Restoration Island National Park
4. Olkola National Park
5. Oyala Thumotang National Park
6. Quinkan Country
7. Wuthathi / Shelburne Bay National Park

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will have the ultimate say as to whether these areas meet the set criteria and are included on the World Heritage List.

Queensland currently has five UNESCO World Heritage-listed areas; K’gari / Fraser Island, Great Barrier Reef, Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, Riversleigh fossil site, and the Wet Tropics of Queensland.

Feature image thanks to Australian Government (DCCEEW)