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Laws and Policies Protecting the World Heritage Area
The Federal Government is a signatory of the World
Heritage Convention, an international treaty which binds the
Government to protect World Heritage Areas for future generations.
The Wet Tropics World Heritage Protection and Management Act 1993 is the Queensland legislation which sets out the role of the Wet
Tropics Management Authority in managing the World Heritage Area.
The Act also provides the legal basis for the Wet
Tropics Management Plan 1998. The Plan regulates land use activities
in the World Heritage Area through a zoning
and permit system. The Plan is based on five broad approaches:
- Four zones have been established according to the relative integrity of localities.
- A range of activities which could potentially impact on the World Heritage Area have been prohibited, in particular, activities which destroy vegetation, result in land degradation, affect streams or spoil scenic values.
- Some specified activities are allowed without a permit.
- Some specified activities are regulated through a permit system.
- Management agreements may allow some activities, otherwise prohibited, if the agreement contributes to the achievement of the Primary Goal of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
Associated with the Wet Tropics Management Plan is Protection through Partnerships, a plain English explanation of the Authority's policies which underpin the Plan.
Austaralian legislation which relates to the Wet Tropics
World Heritage Area includes the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Under this Act a person must not, without an approval under the Act, take an
action that is likely to have a significant impact on:
- World Heritage
values
- a threatened species or endangered community listed under
the Act, or
- the environment in a Commonwealth marine area or on
Commonwealth land.
The Act requires that a person proposing to take
an action should contact the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment
for a decision on whether or not the action needs an approval. If
a Commonwealth environmental approval is required, this will be
in addition to relevant State approvals. For further information,
see the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
If you need to view any piece of legislation in
Queensland, you can visit the website of the Queensland
Parliamentary Counsel.
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