Tasmanian Wilderness (181)

The Tasmanian Wilderness bears an exceptional testimony to the southernmost occupation by people during the Pleistocene period. Cave sites contain extremely rich, exceptionally well-preserved occupation deposits of bone and stone artefacts. Well preserved, diverse rock marking sites and rock shelter sites provide evidence of Aboriginal occupation, dating back approximately 40,000 years.

The Tasmanian Wilderness is a diverse cultural landscape where Aboriginal people have managed and modified the landscape for approximately 40,000 years. Significant stages in human history, from the Pleistocene period to the arrival of Europeans, are illustrated through extensive and diverse Holocene shell middens, rock shelters and artefact scatters, as well as Aboriginal cultural heritage sites. Targeted Aboriginal burning regimes are evidenced in the modified vegetation types within this landscape.

Rock marking sites provide a tangible reflection of the beliefs and ideas of the southernmost people in the world during the Pleistocene, and of their descendants in later periods. Red ochre hand stencils, ochre smears, and other amorphous marks have been found in caves throughout the property. Amongst these sites is Wargata Mina which is the southernmost known Pleistocene marking site in Tasmania, and the first site in the world where mammal blood was identified as being mixed with ochre, possibly as a fixative. The vast majority of rock markings in the caves are individual motifs, spatially separated from one another. This suggests a spiritual or artistic intent, highlighting a considered, organised and arranged approach to the creation of markings, which is supported by the absence of cultural materials or occupation deposits. The rock markings and cave hand stencils together represent a close connection to ideas and beliefs and living traditions of Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their ancestors.

Geological and glacial events, climatic variation at the geological and landscape scales, and Aboriginal occupation and use have combined to produce extensive and varied wilderness landscapes of exceptional aesthetic importance abound. Important landscape features exemplifying the variety and beauty of the property include the rugged, tarn-embedded quartzite ranges, such as the Eastern Arthurs. The dramatic rampart of the Great Western Tiers, marks the northern and eastern bounds of the undulating alpine Central Plateau, where sand dunes with ancient pencil pines abut shallow lakes. Dark-watered estuaries, such as New River Lagoon, nestle below precipitous peaks. The wild and windy coast with its emerald marsupial lawns, and the bizarrely beautiful submarine ecosystems of Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour add to the aesthetic appeal of the property. The golds and greens of wind-moulded alpine and subalpine flora, extensive blankets of buttongrass moorlands and patches of dark green mossy rainforests cloaking southern slopes, contribute to its scenic diversity. Cave systems are ornamented by glow worms, wild rivers cut dramatically through quartzite ranges to calmer water below, and forests dominated by Mountain Ash, at 70-100 metres, dwarf the rainforest understorey below.

Extensive outcrops of Jurassic dolerite attest to the breakup of Gondwana more than 40 million years ago. Large areas of terrace systems, stabilized by a peat coating, provide evidence of tectonic and sea level change. Vast areas of wilderness and wild coasts, free of exotic plants, allow fluvial, aeolian and wave-driven processes to continue. Periglacial processes, globally unusual because of the absence of permafrost, actively create stone stripes, polygons and steps. Globally distinct wind-controlled striped mires are the product of ongoing bio-geomorphological processes, as are the peat pond systems. The accumulation of organic matter continues at a landscape scale in nutrient-poor quartzite country, where globally distinct, reddish fibric moor peats occur at depth under rainforest. The property contains globally outstanding exemplars of ongoing temperate maritime karst processes, unusually within dolomite. Palaeokarst, much resulting from the unusual interaction of glacial and karst processes in a maritime climate, provides one of the best available global records of southern temperate glacial processes, with deposits from three eras: the late Cenozoic, late Paleozoic and late Proterozoic.

The property’s great size and wilderness character enable significant natural, biological and geomorphological processes to continue in terrestrial, coastal, riverine and mountain ecosystems. The property is exceptional in its representation of ongoing terrestrial ecological processes involving fire and wind. Mosaic landscapes of fire-susceptible and fire-dependent plant communities have formed. These include large, remote, undisturbed areas of Mountain Ash, one of the tallest flowering plants in the world. At alpine altitudes, where wind redistributes sporadic snowfalls, cushion plants, exposed to wind and ice abrasion, thrive. Distinct plant communities, including the only Australian winter deciduous tree, the Deciduous Beech (also known as Tanglefoot), form on fire and weather protected northeastern slopes. Wind-controlled cyclic succession in lineated Sphagnum mires appears to be globally unique. Unusual assemblages of deep marine species are found within the large estuaries, where communities are moderated by dark tannic freshwater, overlaying salt.

Extensive areas of high wilderness quality ensure habitats of sufficient size to allow the survival of endemic and rare or threatened species such as the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, and many ancient taxa with links to Gondwana. The orange-bellied parrot and an assemblage of marsupial carnivores are found nowhere else. Some of the longest-lived trees in the world are present, with Huon pines reaching ages in excess of 2000 years. Secure habitats, including hundreds of island refuges, contain very few pathogens, weeds, or pests. Spectacular cave systems are inhabited by endemic invertebrate species, resulting from relict populations separated during periods of glaciation. The world’s most southerly and isolated temperate seagrass beds and giant kelp forests occur in Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour and remote islands support significant breeding populations of seabirds.

The first management plan of the property (1992–1999) was reviewed after 5 years, and a new plan (a 10-year plan) was framed by the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service in 1999 (Russell & Jambrecina 2002). Ninety percent of the park is protected by the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1970). It has been declared by the law that “no statutory powers can be exercised within a state reserve, unless authorized by a management plan.” The property is managed by joint Commonwealth– State arrangements, under which there is a standing committee of officials and a 15-member consultative committee of scientific, aboriginal, industry and recreational interests. Since 1995, the Aboriginal Land Council has been supervising Kutikina Cave (15 ha) and other “parcels of land”, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (1984) provides the highest protection to the aboriginal sites from violation (Periodic Reporting Cycle 2003). Forest fires were a significant threat to the property, but the implementation of some models helped reduce forest loss by producing some fire-free vegetation. The forest cover increased by 4.1% during the period 1948–1988 and by 0.8% during the period 1988–2010 (Wood & Bowman 2012). The pets and pathogens of the freshwater are also turning out to be a serious hazard. Pets and pathogens such as Phytophthora cinnamomi (root rot), Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid frog disease), Mucor amphibiorum (platypus mucor disease) and the freshwater algal pest Didymosphenia geminata (didymo) are causing harm to the native freshwater species (Allan & Gartenstein 2010). The current threats to the property are quite serious. The “landscape- scale” bushfire of 2000 caused a lot of damage to the property, and 12% of the area got affected, specifically in the high-altitude region of the heritage site The increasing tourism can cause harm to the property. Climate change is having direct and indirect impacts on the property— the increased frequency and intensity of fires is also an effect of climate change, and these fires can cause damage if measures are not taken (IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2020). There is a programme for eradication of feral dogs from the property. Other programmes have been implemented for reducing the numbers of starlings and rabbits (Periodic Reporting Cycle 2003). The remoteness, location, limited resources and harsh environment have provided the area a high degree of natural protection. The area of the site has been increased through a series of extensions, as “minor boundary modifications”, in 1989, 2010, 2012 and 2013, which has provided the property an extra layer of protection. According to the State of Conservation Report of 2021, a tourism master plan is being developed that will provide guide policies and increase the range of tourism-related experiences available to visitors. According to the State of Conservation Report of 2018, the management of the park is effective and is perpetuating the values of the park. Threats faced in some areas such as the sea level rise and effects of climate change cannot be controlled by the management (IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2020) The monitoring and evaluation of the property for adaptive management is mostly effective, and it commits to providing regular reports of TWWHA (IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2020). In December 2016, a new management plan was implemented under Tasmania’s Nature Conservation Act 2002. The new management plan includes banning of logging and mining activities inside the property, and it facilitates joint management arrangements with the Tasmanian aboriginal people to support and improve their cultural heritage values (IUCN World Heritage Outlook 2020). The Aboriginal Heritage Council provides advice and guides the development of the plan to carry out an assessment of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site. The State party states about appointing the specific reserve zone for Permanent Timber Production Zone Land (PTPZL) and Future Potential Production Forest Land (FPPFL) upon community consultation. The Committee requests the state party to speed the process of designation (State of Conservation Report of 2021). Funds to the tune of AUD 3.2 million (USD 2.5 million) have been released for the protection of the endangered orange-bellied parrots (Neophema chrysogaster) (State of Conservation Report of 2018).